There Forever
by SomewhereInWonderland
Summary: After 10 years without so much as a word from her best friend; Joe Morelli- after bumping into each other- they find it hard to stay apart. But what was once avoided in the past... will always haunt your future. Taking a new twist on JE's characters All are welcome but this is a story for the CC's.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Alright so this is my 2nd story- But this isn't a sequel to my first one. This is a story for the **_Cupcakes_**, of course- Babes you are more than welcome to read! I haven't decided if Ranger will make an appearance in it or not yet. But- be forewarned there is **_no_** Babe HEA here. I love Ranger as well- but I am a Babecake- and well I couldn't leave my cupcakes hanging! So anyways- this is something I have an idea for. **_Please _**please let me know what you think. Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer: JE's characters- my version.**

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

After a long week at a job I hated there was nothing I wanted more on a Friday night than to kick back watch a movie, order some pizza, have a beer… or three. However I knew well enough that this wasn't going to happen; there was always some sort of function or charity something or other to attend. Don't get me wrong- I'm not against charity fund raisers; but that's not the point of these. The point is to be seen which was _so_ not me. Sure I like getting dolled up from time to time, but these events made the Sesame Street song "One of these things is not like the other" play on a constant cycle in my mind. The reason I put up with it though was for my amazing boyfriend, Austin.

I suppose I should back up a little here; I'm Stephanie Plum; long thick curly brown hair which currently contains blonde highlights, big blue eyes, a decent figure, average height, a bra size that I wouldn't mind being a little bigger- but my good friend Victoria has some amazing push-up bras that ((cost an arm and a leg)) but do great things for my cleavage. In a few months I'll be turning 30 and I am completely dreading it. Not because I'll have hit the big 3-0, but because of the pressure that comes along with it. 6 months into my relationship with Austin my mother was already asking me when we were going to tie the knot. Well now we've been dating for 2 years and every time I see her she tells me I better make sure to snatch him up quick before someone else does. Being in a relationship was not easy for me; I like being independent, having my own space and not having someone dictate certain aspects of my life- that was what my mother was for.

With Austin it was different; in the beginning it was nothing serious simple dates here and there. Even a couple casual hook-ups but as time went on we both realized we liked being together too much. When I first met him- intimidating was the word I would use to describe him. Not only did he come from money and a family where everyone knew his name- he was also working at the biggest law firms in New Jersey. Hamilton and Sons- a company started by his great-great grandfather. There were a few major rules in that family; you had to have a son- and he had to go to law score- receive top scores and then work at Hamilton and Sons. Austin does have a sister, Lacie and while she had access to the family's never-ending bank account; she wasn't exactly accepted. Which of course that made her my favorite one of Austin's family members- not that I minded the others. It was just- I felt so much pressure to never screw up or say the wrong thing. Because sometimes people are simply paranoid and think that everyone is watching them; the Hamilton's really are.

Which brings us here; to the wine aisle of a liquor store. Austin told me to pick up a dry wine as a gift for the family holding this charity dinner at their home tonight. First of all- I don't drink wine. Secondly- what the hell was _dry_ wine; last I checked it was a liquid- making it wet. What I really wanted was to slip over to the beer coolers and pick out a couple of those. Because personally if I were hosting some ridiculously over-the-top party; I wouldn't want someone to bring me wine or champagne- I'd want beer. During my first 20 minutes in the store I could tell the cashier expected me to shove one of these bottles down my pant leg and try to walk out. Now I think he'd prefer for me to steal something- just to get rid of me. At all these parties wine was always served, but of course they were poured in glasses and the bottles were taken away. So there wasn't even one I could grab just as a default; and I knew if I didn't grab the right kind I would get an hour long lecture about how I should know this stuff.

"Well well well…. Who would have thought you would have turned into a wino?" I turned to see who was talking to me- and my dropped open in utter shock. Standing in front of me was a toned and lean hard-bodied Italian man. Dark hair that had a little curl to it and amazing dark eyes- and normally I would reply with some cute remark- if the guy standing in front of me wasn't Joseph Morelli. Joe and I grew up in the same neighborhood and even though he was 2 years older than I was; he was also my best friend… well used to be. We used to spend every day together; through the 'cootie stage', the awkward stage, the puberty stage… everything. We could talk about everything- including the people we were dating. That was until our completely friend-only friendship took a turn one night into a territory we never came back from. The night I graduated from high school at one of the many parties and after a few beers Morelli ended up in my bed. Which wasn't completely crazy since this had happened many nights before- but all the other nights we simply went to sleep. That night was different and I went from being Joe Morelli's best friend- to one of the many that had experienced Joe in the sack. Things became awkward between us and when we finally talked about it- I realized that I was in love with him… and he wasn't in love with me. That was the last time I saw him… until now that is.

"Jesus, Morelli!" Joe had always been attractive, but he was one of those guys that got more attractive with age. A smile beamed across his face; and I couldn't help but return it. He stepped closer to me and pulled me in tight for an unexpected hug. Standing there breathing in the scent of my old best friend made a lump rise in my throat- which thankfully I was able to push back down. He released me from his tight embrace but still held my shoulders; looking me up and down.

"You look great, Plum."

"Yeah you know, eating a healthy diet of TastyKakes can do that to you." The laugh that escaped him was just as I remembered; God have I missed this man.

"Glad to see you haven't changed."

"I sure have!"

"You're right; the old Stephanie never would have been drinking wine."

"The Stephanie you knew was 18 and had never been in a liquor store before." He smiled again releasing my shirt from his grasp.

"I suppose you're right."

"Do you know anything about wine?" One eyebrow rose up at me- and I had my answer.

"You're joking right?"

"I don't drink wine, but I have this thing to go to tonight and I need to pick up something fancy."

"Does it happen to be wine?" I shrugged my shoulders, Austin told me to grab wine; and the only other thing I ever saw him bring was a bottle of champagne…. Not that I knew anything about that either. Except that it was extremely bubbily and gave me a major headache the next day.

"I don't know, I don't think it's a requirement- more of one of those things that everyone does."

"Where are you going that everyone is bringing wine?"

"Some charity fundraiser." When he crossed his arms over his chest the muscles in his arms were accentuated quite nicely.

"_You're_ going to a charity fundraiser?"

"With someone, I mean my name isn't even on the invite. I'm just a plus 1."

"Boyfriend?" His chocolate eyes raised with curiousity; and I wanted nothing more than to stop this conversation. The last time I talked to him it ended in screaming and yelling. Not that it was completely unusual for us to yell- but it was always before over ridiculous stuff. Nothing about our last fight was ridiculous and I hadn't heard from him- my _best friend_ in ten years. But there was still a part of me that wanted to spill my guts to him like I always used to- but he wasn't the same Joe- he wasn't _my_ Morelli anymore. And I certainly wasn't the same Stephanie- meaning I had no right gushing my life to essential this perfect stranger- and he had no right to ask.

"Yeah boyfriend."

"Austin something-or-other, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"We may not live in the Burg anymore but our gossipy mothers still do. I just heard it through the grapevine besides I think I've seen a few pictures of you guys together in the paper and stuff." I smiled and nodded; I knew if I opened my mouth more would come out than I was willing to talk about.

"Can I give you a suggestion for what to bring tonight?"

"Sure, I'm obviously not going so hot on choosing on my own."

"If I were going to some fancy-pants charity thing I wouldn't bring wine. I'm sure there is enough wine there to go around; bring something good like a good beer. Personally, I'd bring Heineken- I'm a Bud drinker myself but Heineken is a classy beer."

"I doubt I can bring beer to something like this."

"Why not? I'll bet you anything that someone there will be thankful that you didn't bring another damn bottle of wine." Had to admit- he had a point. Besides if for some reason Austin got really mad at me for bringing beer maybe he wouldn't send me on a wine run for these things anymore. And I know the Heine's wouldn't go to waste in my care.

"Done- I'll get those, how many?"

"Do two 6 packs, you can carry them in easily."

"Have to admit, glad I ran into you today." He laughed as he handed me my beer and grabbed out a case of Bud for himself.

"Good to know after 10 years I can at least make a good impression on you with my knowledge of beer."

"Has it really been 10 years?" I asked; although of course I knew down to the day how long it has been- not that I wanted him to know.

"About that." We carried our supplies to the register and the cashier rang up Joe's purchase first and once he got to me I was surprised to see Joe stay around and wait for me. After the beer was paid for we walked out to the parking lot and we walked to two cars parked next to each other. He put the case in the backseat of his Explorer while I did the same with mine.

"Have fun tonight, Steph, I hope my suggestions didn't get you in too much trouble."

"Nah, I can always play it off as one of my charming quirks." Joe laughed and once again wrapped me into his arms for a hug. My arms wrapped tight around his shoulders and I could already feel a piece of me wanting to hold on for dear life… losing him had been the largest moment of my life. Was I really going to be able to do it again, even if it was only 10 minutes of seeing him out of the last 10 years. This man had meant more to me than anything else but I just needed to remind myself that nothing about our lives were as they used to be. We pulled apart and I walked to the driver's side door to keep myself from latching onto him and never letting go.

"Well Morelli, I guess I'll see you in about 10 years or so." I said with a smile which he returned.

"It's a date."

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

"You bought what?" Austin wasn't as enthusiastic about my gift selection as I had been. When I had arrived home Austin was already dressed in one of his custom tailored black suits tonight he wore a deep blue tie over his white button up shirt. He really was gorgeous to look at tall with a nice build; blonde hair that was usually either brushed to the side or gelled up in the front. His eyes were an amazingly deep shade of emerald that if I stared at long enough I started drifting into songs from the _Wizard of Oz_ and Dorothy's trip to the Emerald City. That was normal for me though; take a beautiful moment and find some way to ruin it with my adolescent mind.

"I promise it's going to be great, hun! I'll carry them in and everything."

"They're going to think this is some kind of joke."

"Well I can dress up in a maid costume; at least then it will look like it was _supposed_ to be a joke." He shook his head a smile fighting at the corner of his lips; I knew the irritation stage was over.

"_If_ you have a maid costume- I think you should show me later, but for now go get dressed so we're not late and show up with beer as a gift."

"Babe, it's not just beer; it's Heineken!"

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

The sun was setting and the house that could probably contain all of the Burg was surrounded by thousands of candles and beautiful backyard lighting. I always wondered if people realized the amount of money they spent to put together parties like this would probably be more beneficial to the charity they were raising money for. I had asked Austin once in the beginning of our relationship; and his response was simply to shoot me a look that only told me not to ask stuff like that out loud. We pulled up to the front entrance and Austin gave his keys to the valet hired for this event; and decided we were going to leave the beer in the trunk. Fine by me; because then it meant I was going to have them later. The point of being here was to look your best and very rarely did I see anyone that fell short of that. If I were to wear the outfits in my own personal closet I would stand out like a sore thumb. Being with Austin though he constantly provided me with new dresses all of which were 'appropriate' to wear to functions like this. Tonight's selection was a strapless black tight fitting dress with silver heels and my hair was thrown into a loose bun with curls bobby-pinned strategically to make it look like I had spent hours on it; and not just 5 minutes.

There was a lot of the same people at these events but I was horrible at remembering names. I remembered 'landmarks' though; like the woman with the _huge_ ass was married to the world's tallest man. Then there was the woman that laughed like a hyena that was always there with a different man; and was well over 50 years old. Austin though never complained about my lack of memory; he held my hand and guided me successfully through everyone until we reached our table. The others sitting with us were all obnoxious housewives that spent their time simply gossiping about everyone else. I knew they were all married but even their husbands avoided sitting with them as much as possible. These women were unfortunately the women we were always seated with because their husbands were business colleagues of Austin's. They also couldn't stand me- which didn't bother me; until of course Austin excused himself from the table to make the rounds and stop at the bar and retrieve us drinks.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, Stephanie. What would you like me to get you to drink?" He leaned in close letting me breathe in his expensive cologne. It was a delicious scent- but unfortunately it only made me miss the way Morelli smelt.

"I'd like a Heineken." He rolled his eyes at me and nodded at the women staring at us- as if I was some Neanderthal joining the group for the first time.

I sat quietly trying to pick up on what the women were talking about; but after a couple minutes completely gave up. Scanning the crowd of people around the backyard I couldn't see Austin; and I wasn't about to go searching for him on my own. At least I couldn't possibly be viewed as someone that didn't belong anymore than I already was; so I had no problem pulling out my cell phone to make the time go by faster. There was only one text that I had received about 10 minutes earlier; from a number not saved in my phone.

**Unknown Number: What did Mr. and Mrs. Fancy-Pants think of the beer?**

I couldn't hide my smile; and it was no mystery as to who this random number was.

**Me: How'd you get my number, creeper?**

I held my phone in my hand so I would feel it vibrate if I got a response- _not_ that I expected one! The women stared at me as if I was doing a topless table dance in front of them. A few moments later my phone vibrated; and my smile was plastered on my face before even looking at the text.

**Unknown Number: I have resources… Now answer my question.**

**Me: Austin refused to give it as a gift so it is still safely secured in my trunk for my future drinking pleasures.**

**Unknown Number: Well I think you owe me one of them, since you wouldn't even have them in your trunk if it wasn't for my brilliant suggestion.**

**Me: Shoot… I'm not sure if Heineken with still be good after sitting in my trunk for 10 years.**

**Unknown Number: Well, guess that means you're going to have to see me sooner than that.**

**Me: I guess that can be arranged.**

I saw Austin approaching the table so I quickly saved the number into my phone book and shoved it back into my purse. The rest of the night went surprisingly well; and I refused to believe that my good mood was there simply because of Joe Morelli.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** You guys…. Are amazing! Seriously- the feedback I have received from just the first chapter really brightened my day! It makes me so happy that you like the AU I am creating and I am so excited to take you on this journey with me! There have been a few comments asking questions that I figured would be easier to address right here. **Yes**- there will be flashbacks to Steph and Joe's past… and _exactly_ what happened between them. It will all be in future chapters but don't worry- it _will_ be there! Also I know a few of my readers were _avid_ Babe readers from my previous story- and it makes me really happy to see you here along with my wonderful Cupcakes/Babecakes… and all new readers this story brings in! Anyways! Far be it from me to keep you from _Chapter 2!_ Enjoy my darlings!

**Disclaimer: JE's characters…. My version.**

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

The next morning I woke up at Austin's place with an awful headache- Goddamn that bubbily stuff! It was 8 and Austin was still sleeping so I decided to enjoy a nice hot shower and half a dozen aspirins. Austin's place felt like a museum; it was a large house with multiple levels- it was beautiful don't get me wrong there. But it didn't feel like a home; beautiful paintings hung on the walls, but no personal images. The furniture was brand new and very comfortable- but there was no soft blanket hanging over the back of the couch to snuggle up with. The dishes and glasses were all from a complete set; but with no random glass that didn't actually belong- but had a great story behind it. On numerous occasions Austin wanted me to move in with him but I always managed to come up with some excuse to avoid taking _that_ step.

By 10 o'clock after having a couple bowls of cereal I was feeling better when Austin joined me in the living room. He leaned in for a kiss and a few stray water droplets left his freshly showered hair and hit my face.

"Sleep okay, hun?"

"Yeah, wine usually has a way to successfully put me to sleep."

"And here I thought you just slept so well because it was me you were sleeping with." A snort slipped out- and I could tell we were already starting out on the wrong foot.

"Listen, my mom called when I was getting dressed and she said they're having a little get together at their place for dinner tonight."

"Does your mother know what a _little_ get together is?" The emerald eyes rolled at me, and moments like this it was so obvious we grew up with completely different backgrounds.

"It's a family thing; Lacie's bringing her new boyfriend. We're invited, and a few of our business colleagues will be there as well. Dinner starts at 7 but she is having everyone go over around 5 to all relax together."

"Okay, well have fun."

"You're not coming?"

"I really can't do two of these events in a weekend."

"This isn't an event, Stephanie. This is a family dinner and you are a part of my family; even if in technical legal terms we are just in a relationship." Austin had taken a seat on the couch next to me and with my hands I grabbed hold of his right hand and placed a kiss on his knuckles.

"I love you, but I'm not going tonight." He groaned with irritation and pulled me to lay down on top of him. I let my head rest against his chest while he smoothed the hair away from my face.

"You can be really frustrating at times."

"What makes you say that?"

"This is the kind of thing we're both expected to be at; it's a family thing. I mean hell, Stephanie- even my sister's flavor of the month will be there."

"As he should, this guy needs to make an impression. I have already made one- a few times."

"I would really like for you to come with me, something like this is more important than the charity fundraiser last night."

"Well, if you would have told me last night that I had a choice to forego that nightmare; I would have gone tonight." Austin's chest rose and dropped back down in an irritated sigh.

"Is there _anything_ at all I can say or do to get you to go?" I rested my chin on my hands and looked into his eager eyes.

"Not at all." I couldn't hide my smile- but by the look on Austin's face I should have tried much harder to hide it.

If Austin's family very rarely had little family get togethers I would be happy to attend. But all the stuck-up women from last night and their husbands would be there. Austin was great at his job and took every conversation as a way to expand in the future. Which was one of the things in the beginning I loved about him. When these parties and "family things" slightly made me feel like a princess- or at the very least _important_, I would watch Austin with such enjoyment. His arm would always be around me but the way his eyes lit up when he talked about business made me want nothing more than to get him to just one moment look at me like that. Well the novelty of it slowly wore off- not that I didn't admire Austin's drive but we were no longer the brand new couple. So me constantly standing by his side went from being 'adorable' to 'clingy' as a 'significant other' to one of these men I was supposed to sit and gossip with the other women. But their gossip was never good and usually about people that I couldn't pick out in a room of people unless they were wearing a name tag.

It didn't take long after I turned down the dinner invitation for me to realize that hanging out at Austin's before he went tonight was probably not a good idea. He would get into somewhat of a sulky mood and retire to his study; saying hardly anything to me. This was another reason I didn't know if I could move in with him… at least not just yet. It wasn't a total annoyance, but by having my own place I didn't have to walk around on eggshells.

Being back in my apartment always felt so great; it wasn't nearly the size of Austin's home- but it _felt_ homey. I had a one bedroom place with a cute little kitchen- that was pretty much only used when I needed to heat something up in the microwave. My bed was a queen size- and was perfect for just me; I didn't need to sleep next to someone every night. Sometimes I would pull the 'sick card' when Austin asked me to spend the night- simply because I wanted to sleep alone. Other than that- personal pictures hung on my walls, and on the back of my old ((but ridiculously comfortable)) couch hung a chocolate brown microsuede blanket. It was fall so the weather outside was cool and breezy; so after I opened the windows to blow a cool breeze around I eyed down my couch and decided I would take a nap. Before I could lay down though I heard my cell phone ring- my first thought was to ignore the call just in case it was Austin calling to try and guilt trip me back. But I figured it would be easier to answer than sit and avoid dealing with it later. When I looked at the caller Id on my cell phone; I nearly had a heart attack as I read:** Joseph Morelli (cell) Calling**. It took me all of a second to decide whether or not I wanted to answer his call or not.

"Hello?"

"Come over and bring those beers."

"Hi Joe, nice to hear from you."

"I'm bored and I have no plans tonight; and I have a ton of beer- you owe me a beer. Come hang out- we'll order a pizza or something." The temptation to accept his offer was there but I knew by accepting this would probably only lead to bad things. Such as my boyfriend thinking I purposely ditched his family thing to hang out with my ex-best friend. Who coincidentally is also someone I refused to talk about when Austin asked me about my past. Of course being a lawyer and the fact that Joe was a plainclothes cop in Trenton sort of put them in the same circle at times. Besides just hearing his voice made my stomach twist in knots- it had been so long since I had him in my life and I liked to think it was getting easier. What happened when I let him back in and suddenly he was gone again? Who am I trying to kid!

"As long as you're paying for the pizza." I could hear his laugh and I couldn't help but smile.

"My treat, when do you want to come over?"

"I'm going to take a nap but once I wake up I'll just head over."

"Sounds good, Cupcake." It felt as though a knife had been plunged deep into my heart, he was supposed to forget about something like that nickname. That very nickname was essentially the start of us being best friends and not just simply kids playing on the same block.

"Oh and by the way- if you're just trying to blow me off, I'm bringing the beer and pizza to you."

"You don't even know where I live, Morelli."

"I'm sure I could figure it out- got your phone number didn't I?"

"Yeah, who'd you get that from by the way?"

"A magician never reveals his tricks." I snorted into the phone.

"I'll remember that."

"See ya later." Even after we disconnected I sat staring at the phone for a few minutes. This didn't feel real, I had wanted more than anything to have my friend back over the years. But it wasn't that simple- there was a reason we stopped being friends. I decided to simply shrug it off- for all I know he doesn't remember the fight and even if he did, Joe wouldn't be the one to discuss it over pizza and beer…. Right?

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

***A Moment In Time- Last day of school for Senior Joe and Soph. Steph***

Finally, the last day of school- well for a few months at least. Next year I was going to be a junior and I couldn't wait but knowing Joe wasn't going to be there had been making me a permanent sour puss these last few months. There was with no surprise about a dozen end of the year parties going on tonight- and Joe had promised an appearance to all of them. Me, on the other hand didn't really want to go to any of them. But none-the-less I wasn't going to lose this time I had with Joe before he got pulled into constant party mode. School was out and I was seated next to him in his car while we rode with all the windows down, music blaring and random cheers from seniors leaving the school grounds for the last time.

"I say we need to celebrate!" Joe said looking over to me with the same sweet boyish grin he had since we were kids.

"Well duh, but that's what tonight's for."

"Nah- I know about that. I mean me and you, we'll go to my place grab a couple of my old man's beers and chill out, and watch a movie before the real partying starts tonight!"

"And donuts- we have to stop at Tasty Pastry Bakery."

"Now you're thinking, Cupcake." The smile was back on his face and it quickly spread to my face. A car full of senior guys drove past us through the green light, bellowing out random cheers and screams. With a quick glance at each other we quickly stuck our heads out the window and yelled back while Joe pumped the car horn a few times. Which not only made about a dozen other cars start in the horn honking; but it caused us to bust out laughing.

An hour later we were still laughing at random nonsense when we got to Joe's house. Without instruction I took the box of donuts upstairs to Joe's room and popped _Ghostbusters_ into the VCR and Joe returned a few minutes later with 6 bottles of his dad's beer.

"You don't think he'll notice?" I asked, and my response was one of his- are-you-being-serious looks.

"He'll be too blitzed not to realize anyone but him drank them."

"Good point." I said popping the cap off the beer and taking a big swig. Joe took his usual spot on the bed which was usually him laying the length of bed on the outside, while I leaned against the wall and draped my legs over his.

"Seriously Plum- Ghostbusters again?" He asked- lifting my legs up to place his beneath mine before laying my legs back in place.

"You don't like it- you change it. But now I got a beer, I'm in reach of the donuts and I'm comfortable."

"I am really tempted to flip you off this bed." I stared at him with my mouth dropped open in mock irritation.

"Why in the hell would you do that?" He shrugged his shoulders, and shot back half of the beer.

"Well don't- it'd be a party foul if you made me spill this beer all over. Not to mention- then your bed and not to mention _our clothes_ would reek of beer. Then I don't think even your dad would believe that you didn't take his beers."

"You worry too much." He said with a smile before grabbing for a random donut and eating half in a single bite.

"So what party should be go to first tonight?"

"I probably won't go to any of the parties." This wasn't the first time I had turned down a party invite and Joe ended up going. He always invited me which was great but there still plenty of parties I skipped out on. Never before had it bothered him the way it did now. He sat up quickly making me lose balance but before I could fall sideways onto the bed he steadied me with his arm.

"Why not, Steph?"

"I don't know, it's probably just going to be a bunch of craziness that will draw the cops attention- and I'd like to avoid that at all costs."

"C'mon, you know I wouldn't let you go to jail." I rolled my eyes selecting a Boston Crème from the box.

"You'll be too wasted, you'll probably end up taking care of the wrong girl!"

"Hey- that only happened _once_." I couldn't help but laugh at the memory of Joe latching onto some girl that was about my height with my hair color- and kept calling her Stephanie. That was until I walked up and he accused the _other me_ of trying to take my spot as his best friend.

"Well whatever, I'm not going."

"Please Steph, we won't go to all the parties I promise- but I don't want to go without you."

"Why?"

"You're my best friend and this is a really big day for me- and I want to spend it with you." How could I say no to that?

"Fine- I'll go."

"Good!" He smiled his infectious smile and placed a kiss on my cheek. We proceeded to slam down the rest of the beer he brought up and by the middle of the movie I was lying next to him as we both passed out to prepare for what promised to be a long night.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

My eyes snapped open and my neck had a killer cramp in it from falling asleep on the couch. The time read 5:30 and after a quick shower and a change of clothes into jeans and a T-shirt, I called Joe and received directions to his place. Before leaving the house I sent a quick text to Austin telling him to have a good night, which helped push away some of the guilt I was feeling about this.

Joe had inherited a house from his Aunt Rose, which happened to be in walking distance to my parents house. I pulled up in the drive way behind his Explorer, grabbed the Heineken out of the trunk and walked to the door and before I even knocked I was greeted by a loud deep bark.

"It's open!" I heard Joe yell from inside. My attention was immediately drawn to the huge mutt Joe held to him by his collar.

"This is Bob- and he's going to jump on you for a second but then he'll back off." I nodded, and set down the beer, knowing I didn't really have a choice in the matter. Once released Bob did just as Joe said- bounded up to me, jumped up for a hug, gave my neck a big doggy kiss and returned to Joe's side.

"Nice to meet you too, Bob." Joe walked up to me and without hesitation pulled me in for a big hug. I didn't expect it to last long but after a few moments of still being held tight in his embrace- I couldn't help but hug him back. The only thing that broke up the hug was the sound of the doorbell indicating our Pino's had arrived.

"Pizza time." He shot me the same boyish grin I had seen a million times before, and while he grabbed the food I took a seat on the couch to get acquainted with Bob.

While we ate our pizza and killed the first six-pack of Heineken our conversation was very impersonal. I got to learn all about his life as a Trenton cop and the long shitty hours. I returned with stories on my job- not revealing much since I still wasn't decided if I wanted to admit that I worked there- even though it had been a few years now. Then he told me how one poker game he won a hand and his body threw in Bob and refrained from mentioning his size- or the fact that he eats everything. But while most didn't know this about Joe- besides me- he was a softy and I knew right away that just a single look at Bob and there was no way Joe was giving him up. Then we touched briefly on how our families were doing and by 8 o'clock things were beginning to feel more- dare I say it—_natural_. We were watching the Nicholas Cage version of "Gone in 60 Seconds", Bob laid by Joe's legs- which were extending out onto the coffee table in front of him. My legs had been resting against the table too, that is, until Joe grabbed my legs and laid them over his lap—like the old days. I expected it to feel awkward but it was far from it and even while we just watched the movie the silence was comfortable- everything about this evening was comforting to me.

A few times Joe's phone had buzzed in his pocket but he ignored whoever it was that was contacting him. But with his phone sitting on the coffee table it became much harder to ignore as it continued to go off. Lighting up every few minutes with a phone call, but Joe kept ignoring the calls. By the 10th call in 20 minutes I smacked him in the arm.

"If you don't answer that thing, or shut it out- I'm going to do it." He smiled but it wasn't his normal smile- it didn't take a genius to tell he was keeping something from me.

"Sorry about that, my phone has pretty much not stopped ringing since the engagement."

"Engagement? Who's getting married?" I tried to think back to our conversation about his siblings- and see if there was something important I had missed.

"I am." He answered more into the beer bottle than me, before taking another sip. Unfortunately for me, this little bit of information made me start choking on the sip in my mouth.

"_You!?_"

"Yeah."

My mind was racing- why hasn't he said anything yet! Hell we spent a good 45 minutes talking about everything Bob likes to eat- but he couldn't even bring up the fact that not only was he in a relationship- but _engaged!_ Having my legs on him suddenly felt awkward and I wanted to yank them away- but that would be annoyingly obvious. His dark brown eyes searched my face for some sign of how I felt and while I didn't want to say how I felt- I knew I had to see something.

"Congratulations, Joe. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I don't know."

I looked down to my chest and see if there was a large gaping hole where it felt my heart had been ripped out from. This wasn't the kind of thing I wanted to find out when I was so confused on what I was even doing here with _Joe Morelli_ of all people- not to mention with about 9 beers under my belt. There was only way I could handle this news- and that was to leave. There was no way I could stay here right now I felt hurt and shocked and I didn't even understand why. But I knew if I were to leave right now my reason for leaving would be obvious. But when I heard my phone go off and saw my mother's name on the caller ID- I did a silent pray of gratitude.

"I need to take this." I said to Joe and taking my feet off his legs and walking into the question. Joe nodded but continued to watch me as I walked away.

"Hi mom."

"Oh Stephanie, good I have a quick question for you."

"What's that mom? Oh no, well I'll be right over I promise." I continued to babble away and I'm sure I'll have to explain later- but I needed _this_ out.

"Stephanie, what are you talking about? Hello!? Can you hear me?"

"No of course it's no trouble, I'll be there in a few minutes mom!" I quickly hung up and went back into the living room to join Joe.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, my Grandma's sick and my dad is too I guess. I'm just going to go over there and help my mom out."

"Steph, I can't let you drive you've been drinking."

"It's not far." I said with a smile but the crease between his eyebrows became more defined with his frown.

"I'm a cop, Steph- I'm not letting you drive."

"Well, I'll walk there then. Listen, thanks for the pizza and everything it was fun."

"Let me walk with you, I'll take Bob out too." Bob's floppy mutt ears perked up at the word Walk.

"Please no."

"Why?" He was clearly offended and I felt bad- but I didn't think I could handle one more minute in the same room with him- without becoming a drunken emotional wreck.

"Because, then I'll have to answer a million questions tonight about you and why I was with you."

"They're going to wonder where your car is either way." I shrugged my shoulders and scooped up my purse.

"I'll think of something to say."

"Okay, well I hope everything is alright."

"It will be fine." Once I'm not standing in a room where I can feel the oxygen draining from, leaving me with a punched in the gut feeling. Joe started to move close for a hug, but I quickly backed away and with a final wave I took off to my mother's house.

After slamming down a glass of water and giving my mom a really vague excuse for my weird phone call I went up to my old room. I stripped off my clothes and pulled the blankets up around me and in a drunken mess- let myself cry once more over _Joe Morelli_.

**A/N: The flashbacks will kind of jump all over the place- from when they were teens, to kids, and back. I will always specify- but I just wanted to make that clear. Let me know what you thought of this!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the absence! I really don't have a stellar excuse! So forgive me pleaseeeee…. And enjoy! : )

**Disclaimer: JE's characters- my version.**

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

The smell of coffee crept into my nose and I slowly opened my eyes to see my mother standing next to my bed.

"Is that for me?"

"It is if you explain what brought you over here last night, without a car." My head was feeling a little fuzzy after all the beers I drank; plus the added news of Morelli's engagement. It wasn't that I was mad he was engaged- it was the fact he didn't tell me. We used to be best friends and last night felt like we were possibly getting back to that. But news like that isn't something you keep from your _best friend_ and the last thing I wanted to do was tell my mother that I had been getting drunk with Joe Morelli.

"What if my excuse is really vague, can I still have the coffee?" She sighed and held out the mug to me and I sat up.

"None of us drink coffee with nearly as much cream and sugar as you; so it'd be waste of a cup if I didn't give it to you." I took a big sip- perfect. I curled my legs up to my chest and she took a seat at the end of my bed.

"Did you and Austin get into a fight last night?" She asked with worry in her voice; but I was sure it was more because she saw Austin as my 'last chance' to get married and be the Burg wife I was _born to be_.

"No, well yeah but it was more of an argument. And it really doesn't have anything to do with why I showed up."

"Argument about what?"

I just shrugged my shoulders, taking another sip of coffee. "Just normal boyfriend/girlfriend stuff- nothing to worry about."

"Good! But that still doesn't answer why you ended up here with no car."

"I was out for a walk in the area and didn't want to go home. You called and the sound of going home and just sleeping in my old bed sounded really nice." Okay- so total bullshit, but the smile on my mother's face told me she was buying it. Her hands touched either side of my placed as she kissed my forehead.

"You're always welcome here, now why don't you get up and shower. I'll whip you up some breakfast when you come downstairs."

"What time is it?"

"9 o'clock—don't worry, you slept right through the battle for the bathroom."

"Good to know! Alright, I'll be down in a little bit." Once she left I looked through my old dresser for clothes I had left behind over the years. From time to time I had spent the night at my mother's house and judging by the amounts of sweatpants stuffed in the drawers; it looked as if the only time I stayed here was during a break-up. I did find a pair of clean underwear and khaki shorts, white tank top and an old gray sweatshirt without a hood that would have to do. It was fall out but not terribly cold today so shorts and a pullover sounded good, with a pair of clean socks. I let the hot water from the shower wash away the sour moments from last night and hoped all my thoughts of being friends again with Joe would be washed down the drain with the soap suds.

Once I was out I dressed in the outfit I had picked out and grabbed the brush I always used when I was here and pulled it through my long curly hair. I could hear murmuring from downstairs but that was nothing unusual since my parents and Grandma Mazur occupied the place. But when I cracked the door open I could hear a voice that I knew definitely _didn't_ belong here.

"I'm sorry dear, I think I heard you wrong. Mind repeating that for me?" I heard my mother sweetly ask the visitor.

"Yes, last night Stephanie told me she was going to be coming here. I tried calling her phone to make sure she was okay but it was off." Undeniably was it Morelli's voice—great, now I was in _deep _shit with my mother.

"Why would she tell you she was coming here? When was the last time the two of you even talked?"

"Well she was at my place last night and I don't live too far from here actually. Her car is still in my driveway, so I was still hoping she was here so I could talk to her."

"Just wait right here, I'll go find her." My mother's voice had quickly turned from sweet to scary. I quickly left the bathroom and ran into my bedroom just seconds before my mom bust in.

"Stephanie Plum! You have some explaining to do! I should have known this had something to do with Morelli; what were you doing at Joseph's house last night?! I didn't even know the two of you still talked!"

"We ran into each other the other day, I went over there had a couple beers and wanted to leave. I was drinking so I walked over here to avoid getting behind the wheel." My mother pursed her lips together as she shook her head back and forth.

"You have a wonderful man; and I heard Joseph is engaged."

"I do, and he is. It wasn't anything to make a big deal out of; I haven't seen him in years and after today it will probably be another 10 years or so before I see him again."

A giant sigh escaped my mother's chest as she sat down at the end of my bed again.

"Stephanie, I know you and Joe used to be very close." She looked to me for reassurance so I nodded to her so she could continue. "After you two had a horrible fight and stopped talking I have never seen you so upset. I don't want you to get hurt again."

As hard as it was for me to deal with the consequences of our friendship ending; I forgot everything my family had to endure from me. My mother was right; I was miserable and what she didn't realize was the pain and emptiness I felt the day I realized I had lost my best friend- was still there. And I didn't want to get hurt again; anymore than she wanted to see my hurting. I knew what I had to do; and as much it was going to hurt- I had to once again cut all ties with Joseph Morelli. I needed to wish him the best in the future- and be on my way. I placed a reassuring kiss on my mother's cheek.

"I promise it will be okay." She searched my eyes and she must have seen the reassurance of what I planned to do because she stood up and smiled at me.

"Austin is your future, Stephanie."

"You're right, he is." Together we walked downstairs and I saw Joe standing in the foyer—looking completely miserable.

"Hey Steph, everything okay?" I nodded and gave him my best reassuring smile.

"Of course." He sighed and looked down to stare at his boots for a moment before meeting my gaze again.

"Can we go somewhere and talk? I was thinking about taking Bob for a walk around the lake and I'd like you to join us." I turned back to see my mother looking extremely nervous, but I gave her another smile and turned back to face Joe.

"Sure- let's go for a walk." His face brightened up a little as he held the door open for me and I led the way out to his explorer sitting in front of the house. I could see Bob was already beyond excited to simply be in the car and I couldn't help but laugh at his big crazy cute face. I slid into the passenger seat and Joe set a plastic bag on my lap; I let out a single laugh.

"If you just invited me so I could be on poop pick up duty, I'm getting out now." Joe burst out laughing as he unwrapped the top of the bag in my lap so I could see the end pieces of about half a dozen different loaves of bread.

"Figured we could feed the ducks if you want." His eyes remained on the road as he took off and I couldn't help but smile. I could see that for some inexplicable reason Joe looked worried or upset- either way, certainly not the Morelli I knew.

"No one was sick last night when you left, were they?" I assumed he already knew the answer to that so I just shook my head; knowing he was watching me out of the corner of his eye.

"Why'd you really go, then?"

"I don't know, it was time I guess."

"But why? I mean did I do something to upset you?"

"No, I just realized things aren't the way they used to be between us. I shouldn't have been getting drunk at your place like we used to back in the day."

"We were having a good time though, Steph."

I just shrugged my shoulders and directed my attention down to stare at my fingers. Besides Bob's heavy panting, the ride to the lake was silent; which I frankly didn't mind. I knew what I needed to do but I was the Queen of denial and the last thing I wanted to do was to dive into _that_ conversation. When Joe found a spot I couldn't help but laugh when I watched him try to reign Bob in long enough to successfully clasp his leash on him. Once it was on though Bob immediately took off; Joe quickly grabbed my arm to pull me along with them at the running pace Bob decided to take. After a little bit though Bob slowed down to a quick walk which was much easier to keep up with.

"So tell me about your fiancée." I asked after a few minutes of the comfortable silence we were walking in.

"Her name is Hallie Martin; I met her about two years ago. She's great and keeps me in check when my Italian side begins to surface." I couldn't help but laugh; I knew all about his Italian side and the way it could control him from time to time.

"So how'd you propose?"

A smile spread over his face. "It's a pretty boring story I suppose; she had been hinting for months and months about what ring she wanted. So she was away on a business trip for a couple days and her mom and my mom took me out ring shopping. I picked out the one I knew she wanted and when she came home I popped the question."

"Romantic."

"Yeah, what can I say—romance is definitely my thing."

"Oh yeah, I can tell." He let out a small laugh.

"So what about you and Austin? When are you guys gettin' hitched?"

"HA! Not for a very long time!"

"How come?" I was a little thrown off by the serious tone in his voice; and when I looked at him there was genuine curiosity.

"I don't know, the thought of a long term commitment is scary enough to me. Throw in a legal document and the promise of forever; and I start breaking out in hives." Joe couldn't help but laugh as he slung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in closer to his side while we walked.

"You know what I was thinking about the other day?" Joe asked, breaking the silence between us.

"No, what?"

"When you became my best friend."

I couldn't hold back my smile as I looked up at his face and saw a warm comforting smile spread across his face.

"Oh yeah, so when did you know I was your best friend, Morelli?"

"I was in third grade and the classes were out at recess; a group of fifth grade bullies came up to me and started picking on me. Well that was pretty normal for them to show they were the kids in charge. One of them shoved me and I immediately started punching back and easily proved to them not to mess with me. So later I was sitting in the office waiting to speak to the principal and for my mother to get there. And I look over and see you coming out of the nurse's office; you were so sick and you looked over at me and I felt so bad to see you so sick. Then my mom walked in and started yelling at me in front of the entire office and when I looked over at you again you were gone. Well you were out of school for a week after that and I was so worried about you. Then one day I was just sitting outside during recess and up walks this little girl in pigtails with a cupcake in her hand. And when I looked at you, do you remember what you said to me?"

"I said, sorry you got yelled at—those guys are jerks." The warm feeling spreading throughout my body was making the thought of telling Joe we could never talk again—near impossible.

"Yup, you had been so sick and yet you still show up with a cupcake to make me feel better. Even back then you were an amazing person that put other people before yourself." I could feel the beginning of sentimental tears pooling up behind my eyes, and I did everything I could to hold them back.

We were coming up on a bench that had a clear view of the lake where a bunch of geese were waddling around. I took a seat and Joe sat next to me as we both began digging in the bag to get out some pieces of bread. Joe alternated between feeding Bob and then throwing pieces to the geese. The more pieces we threw to them; the more their numbers began to multiply and close in around us. If someone were to freeze this moment; it would be one I would always replay with a smile on my face. We laughed together and joked around and when the geese began to invade my personal bubble Joe couldn't help but double over laughing at my screams. One goose suddenly flew right next to me and I jumped and ended up sitting as close to Joe without being on his lap as possible. I turned to face him and saw him looking down at me, the smiles on our faces suddenly faded with the reality of how close we were. His eyes darted down to look at my lips and I couldn't resist looking at his; I could feel the heat radiating between us. Before we could move any closer though Bob took off at a run chasing after the flock of geese that had moved on after they realized we weren't feeding them anymore. Joe's arm jerked away first followed by the rest of him; he quickly grabbed hold of my arm to take me along with them.

Throughout the rest of the walk/run we laughed and joked around some more and when we got back to the car, Joe pulled out a little portable water dish for Bob to drink out of. He leaned against the car arms folded across his chest; and I couldn't help but notice the toned muscles in his arms and found myself wondering if his abs looked as good as his arms.

"You know Steph, I really don't want to lose you again. I mean we've only spent a few hours together but all I can think about is how great it's been having you around again. I realize it's been 10 years since we've actually spent time together but you're still my best friend. Especially with this whole wedding thing, I need my best friend by my side." I could feel an ache in my chest and the tears I had earlier pushed aside creeping back up again. How was I supposed to keep the promise to myself and my mother that I was going to keep Joe Morelli out of my life. When he looked up from the pavement to meet my eyes I knew there was only one thing I could do.

"Of course I'll be there, Joe." A smile spread across his face and he pulled me in for a tight embrace; pressing his nose into my hair.

"Thank you, Cupcake. Want to get lunch or something?"

"Well I should probably get home." I saw the disappointment shadow his face; which was a look I couldn't stand seeing. "But you're welcome to come over and we can hang out there."

"Alright." The smile reappeared on his face.

We drove back to his house so he could drop Bob off and I could retrieve my car. He followed behind my car until he got to my apartment and after we parked we met up to walk inside together. We took the elevator up to my apartment and when we got out I could see Austin standing next to my door. He took in the sight of Joe's arm around my shoulders and the smile on both of our faces; and suddenly Austin didn't look terribly happy to see me anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: JE's characters—my version.**

**OoooOooOooOooO**

"Hey Austin, what are you doing here, baby?" A myriad of emotions crossed across his face; from shock to annoyance to rage.

"Well, it looks like I'm interrupting." Even his tone was laced with the same rage that was shooting out at Joe and I.

"You're not interrupting anything, Austin this is Joe Morelli- Joe, this is my boyfriend Austin." Joe stepped forward extending his hand in a completely calm manner. His eyes glanced back at me and it was easy to see that Joe was clearly amused by this. Austin reluctantly shook his hand, but made no attempt to hide the way he was feeling from Joe.

"Nice to meet you, man." Austin remained silent and turned his angry glare towards me once again.

"Can I talk to you alone, Stephanie?"

"Yep, Joe was just stopping by."

"Yeah, I have a lot of paperwork to do; I was just swinging by to catch up."

Austin remained quiet and I'm sure it was because the anger he was experienced had rendered him speechless. Joe turned to face me and I could see he was seconds away from bursting out laughing. He gave me a hug and leaned into my ear and in a whispered tone sung, "Somebody is in trouble."

"Yeah, thanks." I muttered back and watched as he went back in the elevator and once the doors closed the sound of him chuckling echoed out to us. This of course didn't improve Austin's mood and in fact I could almost see steam coming out of his ears.

"Why don't we go inside to talk." I said; hoping to keep the rest of my neighbors from hearing everything going on in my life.

"Yeah, let's." I unlocked my door and he followed me into the living room; I sat down on the couch but he remained standing with his fists clenched at his side. I was sure there was something I could say to help calm him down; but I decided letting him work through his inner anger would be best for now.

"So I had to come up with some excuse for why my girlfriend missed a family event. I chose the good old she's very sick but wants more than anything to be here. Well then I don't hear from you and show up to make sure you are doing okay- and find you are _better than _okay."

"Well I wasn't sick Austin, you knew that already."

"I know, but I also expected you would call me or something. Instead I find you about to walk into your apartment with none other than Joe Morelli."

"I'm sorry I didn't call—you're right, I should have. But us coming here today was innocent; he was an old friend that I ran into."

"Did you spend time with him yesterday?"

I could tell this was a challenge; and by telling the truth would cause a huge argument—but I have nothing to hide either.

"Yeah, I did."

"Damnit, Stephanie!" Austin was very good at keeping his cool; being a lawyer it is crucial for him to not burst out random obscenities and potentially lose his case. Plus, he was raised in a family that was very strict and he learned very quickly to keep his emotions in check. So the simple fact that he was visibly angry spoke volumes.

And I certainly wasn't the type of girl to sit around and let someone yell at me. "What!?"

"You bailed on me to go hang out with that guy!"

"I didn't plan to hang out with him and it wasn't until after I got home that he called to meet up. You know why I didn't go to the family party with you and I stand by that decision."

"It was important to me."

"What about what's important to me, Austin? We never go out and do stuff that I want to; we never just go out to have fun. Never do we go to a ballgame, or see a movie or just walk around the lake feeding the ducks. It's always formality and business, we do what we do to impress and network. Sure I complain about doing stuff like that; but I'm still there. So excuse me for getting a phone call from one of my old friends and enjoying a night just catching up. We met up again today and he was just going to come over for some pizza; nothing romantic or sexual about that."

Austin began moving back and forth around the living room; I assumed it was to walk off his frustration. But I wasn't about to apologize for something I didn't do wrong, so I leaned back on the couch and kicked my legs up on the coffee table. Of course this only managed to make Austin more visibly angry.

"I know he's your old friend, Stephanie—but that's all I know about the guy. Whenever we start talking about the past, either relationships or friendships, it's like Morelli's name can't be mentioned. Even your mother refuses to talk about him; which tells me he was an important part of your past—that you haven't let go of."

"That's ridiculous, Austin."

He stopped in front of me and stared down at me his hands at his hips.

"Is it, Stephanie? Why won't you talk about him, tell me about what happened to you guys."

"What do you want to know?"

"Were you just friends; how good of friends? Did you ever date, what happened; and why is the topic of Morelli taboo in your house?"

"We used to be best friends and we had a falling out; there's nothing more to say!" The truth was; there was much more to say. But Austin was right, I didn't want to talk about Joe to him because those were thoughts and memories precious to me. Maybe things weren't resolved but that was solely between Joe and I—if brought up at all.

"What about now, Stephanie? Was this weekend really just two old friends catching up, shooting the breeze? Or was there more to it that you're not telling me?"

"It was _just_ old friends catching up, Austin. Besides—Joe's engaged, so calm down." A flash of relief spread throughout his tensed up irritated body. For a few minutes he was silent; but it was easy to see the wheels in his head were turning.

"Just old friends?" He asked for confirmation; receiving an overly dramatic nod from me.

"Then call him up and make plans for a double date between us and them."

"W…what?" My legs moved quickly from resting position; to support my now standing weight.

"I'd like to meet him and why not make it a dinner with all four of us. If there's nothing to hide between the two of you; why hide your friendship from me?"

"Are you being serious right now?" He nodded his head.

"Call him up now; I'm sure his 'paperwork' will be patient while he talks to us for a minute."

One thing to know about me; I don't like to be challenged. So while I should easily tell him to butt out and quit freaking out over a situation like this; that definitely wasn't what I could do now. I was sure by now Austin knew how to read me well enough to know what to say to hit certain buttons. So I dialed Joe's number on my phone and resumed the sudden staring contest Austin and I seemed to be in.

"How much trouble did you get in, Cupcake?"

"I'm calling because _Austin_ and I," I began, making sure to notably emphasize Austin's name. "Would like to have you and Hallie join us for dinner some night."

"He's standing right there watching you, isn't he?" Joe asked, the amusement still in his voice.

"Yeeep."

After letting out another laugh he came back on the phone. "Sure, let's do it. When did Mr. Lawyer Man want to grill me—oh sorry, I mean get together for dinner?" I tried to hide my smile, knowing that would only lead to an even angrier Austin.

"Let me ask—hold on." I pulled the phone away from my face. "When do you want to get together for dinner?"

"Tomorrow night? I have a lot of late meetings this week; Monday's my only available night besides the weekend. And not to be a complete asshole; I don't want to spend my weekend with them."

"Oh don't worry hun, that doesn't make you a _complete_ asshole; just pretty damn close." We both rolled our eyes as I put the phone up to my ear.

"Tomorrow night?"

"Tell your asshole of a boyfriend that we'll be there; 6 o'clock. I'd hate to waste an evening on that prick." The amusement was gone; he must have heard Austin's remark.

"Okay, we'll see you at 6; and I'm really sorry."

"Not your fault, Cupcake; and hey at least I get to hang out with you again."

My smile was no longer as easy to hide; since I was thinking the same thing about him.

"Bye Joe." I hung up the phone and glared at Austin.

"I swear to Christ, Austin—if you treat him like shit tomorrow; we are going to have some _serious _issues. If you want to know something about Joe and I—we were the best of friends and I have no problem standing up for him."

I watched his eyes roll at me; and it took everything in my power not to chuck my phone at him: hard. Instead though I just told him to leave and we'd talk later. I was furious with the immediate way he treated Joe; yet if I were to go to one of his family parties and say the same thing about someone he cared about—I'd be the worst person in the world. After Austin left I sent Joe a text message apologizing again and to let him know that Austin had decided we'd have dinner at Amici Milano Italian restaurant. Of course somewhere fancy and expensive to let everyone know just how _important_ he was.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

The next day after going to work at my lame job at the Button Factory I drove home and got ready for a dinner I wish I could skip out of. Since this wasn't possible though I got cleaned up and pulled my hair into another updo with curly tendrils framing my face; with a little black dress and a lot of mascara. Austin buzzed up to get into the building at 5:30 but instead of letting him upstairs I slipped into my black heels; grabbed my purse and met him downstairs.

Austin was definitely dressed to impress in one of his favorite black suits, blue tie and his hair perfectly gelled. When he complimented my outfit the little butterflies I normally got weren't there; it helped that I was still really angry with him for the comment from the previous day. We arrived at the restaurant before Joe and Hallie, and were seated at a table—even though I much rather would have been at a booth.

Just a couple minutes after taking our seats at the table Joe walked in with a smile that brightened when he locked eyes with me. He looked great; a nice pair of jeans and a blue button up shirt—very Joe. And I couldn't help but admire the way even at a place like this he remained himself. But my eyes quickly darted from Joe's eyes to the hand that was holding onto to his. That was when I saw Hallie; she was annoying beautiful, and for some reason I felt myself wanting to hate her already. She had shoulder length blonde hair with bangs that hung down straight over her eyebrows. She too was in a black dress and looked to be a few inches shorter than Joe even with her ridiculously high heels on. Austin and I stood to greet them while the boys sullenly shook hands; Hallie and I flashed each other a smile and shook hands too. Then Hallie turned to shake Austin's hand; and Joe pulled me into a strong hug.

"Hallie, this is my best friend Stephanie and her boyfriend Austin. This is my fiancée Hallie." Joe said covering introductions for all of us as we all took our seats.

"It's so nice to meet you, Stephanie. I have heard so much about you."

"You too, and congratulations by the way."

"Thanks." She said, holding out her left hand and showing her ring off with a smile. In a gesture that is common for the ones supposed to be admiring the ring; I grabbed her hand a took a better look at the ring.

"Beautiful ring, nice choice Joe." I said with a smile, releasing her hand from my grasp.

"Actually, I picked it out; Joey just got it for me." She turned to grab something out of her face and I looked at Joe and mouthed out, _Joey_? The look he shot me told me he hated the nickname as much as I expected he would.

"Well, you have great taste then."

"Thank you." The waiter came over to take our drink orders and Hallie stepped in to order first; white wine (no surprise there), Joe ordered a Bud on draft and before I could order Austin stepped up and ordered us each a glass of red wine. Then he shot me a wink; like I should be happy he ordered for me. I saw Joe look at me with his jaw tense, holding back whatever it was that he wanted to say. Instead he shot me a look of empathy, making me suddenly feel beyond embarrassed with Austin's habits toward me.

The conversation continued touching on jobs and business; I noticed Hallie asked a lot of questions towards both Austin and I. Joe chimed in with comments occasionally but every time I was about to answer; Austin would answer for me. I was in no position to start a huge scene in the middle of a nice restaurant like that; which was probably the real reason Austin selected this place. When the dinner orders were taken; Austin once again stepped in to order for me. As time went on I began to feel more uncomfortable; what was I even doing here? Sipping on a glass of red wine that I hated; eating a plate of something that I would never order in a million years. Even the way Austin kept his hand securely on the back of my neck felt more like his way to prove I was _his possession _instead of the woman he loved.

But I felt my mood becoming decreasingly down the more I watched Hallie and Joe interact with each other. She constantly brushed her hand against his arm and shoulder, his cheek and hair. The stars in her eyes told me I was staring at a couple in love; and here Joe was feeling sorry for me. Which only made this experience even worse, I remained quiet during the meal and no one seemed to notice—besides Joe of course.

Once the meal was over and Hallie decided to turn down dessert because of her "bridal diet" she was starting they got up to leave. I politely waved goodbye and smiled to them both but remained seated so Austin knew I wasn't ready to leave yet. After Joe and Hallie were gone I began to speak without looking up from the table.

"What was the point of tonight, Austin? To embarrass me and make me feel like an insignificant child instead of your girlfriend?"

"You're overreacting, Stephanie. I think it went fine and you behaved surprisingly well." My upset attitude quickly turned to irritation with a side of wanting to punch Austin in the face.

"I _behaved_ well? I'm going to go now."

"Fine, let's go." Austin replied lamely standing up to leave; I just held my hand out to him to stop him from moving.

"I'm going to walk, I really don't want to be anywhere near you right now." Before he could respond I strolled out of the restaurant. Once outside I yanked my hair out of the updo and hugged myself tight to keep the warmth in. This was a disaster; and for the first time during our relationship I felt like I didn't belong. But what had the rest of these years of our time together been? Because I want to believe I wasn't completely wasting my time with someone that would immediately turn around and treat me like that. I have never been more embarrassed in my life and not just by my stupid boyfriend's attitude. But also by the way I had to endure a dinner with a couple that was truly in love while Joe Morelli pitied me.

The night air was cool with a cold breeze that felt nice. Well, that is until I saw Austin's car drive past me on the sidewalk without evening slowing down to talk to me. Then traitor tears that wanted to throw off my tough girl exterior rolled down my cheeks; until the cold breeze froze up my cheeks as a result. Could this night get any worse?


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: JE's character—my version.**

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

I wasn't sure how long I had been walking but now my body was cold, numb and tired. In all reality it may have only been about 15 minutes but I was absolutely stunned by the way dinner went. The level of embarrassment I reached tonight was usually reserved for my mother; but that was to be expected. This was _supposedly_ the love of my life doing this to me and then I had to sit and watch Hallie put her hands all over Joe. And what really bothered me was I didn't know which had me more upset; to watch Joe in love, or see Austin's worst qualities on display. The heels I wore were absolutely killing my feet so as soon as I spotted a bus bench I had to sit down and rest my sore-blistering feet. My clutch purse began vibrating and when I pulled out my phone all the emotions held back over dinner came out when I saw it was Joe calling me.

I let out a sob I was no longer able to hold back when I answered. "Hello?"

"Stephanie!" Apparently my sobs were as unexpected to me as they were to him. "Listen, I just dropped off Hallie; please let me come over. And I don't care if Austin's with you because if he is at least now I won't have to hesitate knocking his ass out."

"I'm not at home."

"Please tell me you're not at that _fucker's_ house right now."

"Now, I'm at a bus stop; my feet were killing me so I had to sit down."

Joe let out an irritated sigh and something told me his Italian blood was pulsing through with some serious anger right now. "Why are your feet sore?"

"I didn't want to ride home with home so I started walking home."

"And he just _let you!_ You have to be freezing by now; where are you? I'm coming to pick you up."

"No Joe, I can't let you do that." Even though right now I wanted nothing more than to have Joe here; I was so embarrassed.

"Cupcake, I'm coming to get you. So even if that means I have to go back to that restaurant and search every Goddamn street until I find you: so be it." A few more tears trickled down my already cold cheeks. There was no use fighting it. Joe was a man of his word and I knew he would eventually find me; and the truth was I wanted to be near him too much right now. So I read off the cross streets to him and he assured me he'd be there in a few minutes.

Just as he promised a few minutes later his Explorer pulled up directly in front of me. I was prepared to just hop into the passenger's seat but Joe came running around the front of the car and pulled me into his arms for a hug. The feeling of the warm embrace I have always loved and relied on; triggered the waterworks.

"You're freezing, Steph." He quickly tugged his arms out of his leather jacket as he slid my arms into. The body heat was welcome and it wasn't until I was enveloped in Joe's jacket had I realized _just_ how cold I was. The tears were still falling but the deep sobs had significantly calmed down. Joe's hands framed my face and with his thumbs he brushed away the tears and slowly pressed his lips against his forehead.

"Thank you for coming to get me."

Joe let out a deep sigh as he wrapped one arm around my shoulders and moved to open the passenger door with his free hand. "I wish you'd have called me sooner, Steph."

"This isn't your problem, Joe. I didn't want to ruin the rest of your evening if the two of you had plans."

His arms stopped me before I moved onto the seat. "I meant what I said tonight; you are my best friend, Stephanie. Regardless of how much time we've spent apart; that fact hasn't changed. And there is nowhere more important to me right now than making sure you're okay."

I smiled at him; was it really possible to spend so long apart from someone and still care so strongly for them? And to think just about 24 hours ago I was convinced I needed to break apart from him completely; and in that moment I knew I couldn't. The past 10 years had been bearable without him; but that was only because I didn't allow myself to think about it. The truth was I had been lost without him and now that he was back; I couldn't let him go again. Even if I still wasn't ready to think about what had ended our friendship; I was still okay to pick up where we had left off.

Joe helped me the rest of the way in (not that I was incapable of doing so myself) before returning to his spot behind the wheel. "I should give you a heads up before we head back to your place." I nodded, waiting for his response. "If we run into him again outside of your apartment door; I won't hesitate to punch him."

"It wouldn't be the first time you've punched one of my boyfriend's." I said with a smile and his face lit up as he began laughing with the memory.

"Ah yes, what was that prick's name again?"

"Kyle Giordano." I answered without hesitation.

"Well, he's lucky all I did was punch him."

"He was cute." I said with a defensive joking tone, Joe looked at me and rolled his eyes.

"You sure do know how to pick 'em, Plum." The tears were gone and was replaced with the almost permanent smile Joe had always put on my face. While we drove the rest of the way to my house I stared out the window and couldn't help remembering Kyle Giordano and Morelli's knock-out punch.

**OoooOoooOoooOoooOoooO**

**A Moment In Time: Summer before Steph's senior year. Steph: 17, Morelli: 19**

_During the summer there was two things my group of friends did; one was go to the beach. The other was drink ourselves stupid and after already spending a day at the beach; it was time to get ready for yet another party. Preston Lombardi's house was thee party house; every weekend his parent's went on lavish vacations. Leaving Preston home alone in their enormous house; loaded with a built in pool, game room and a sound system that played music in every single room of the house—including the backyard. _

_Morelli and I typically went to these parties together but since I was currently dating my incredibly gorgeous boyfriend, Kyle; we decided to meet up there. Kyle was Morelli's age and when I met him a couple months ago at the start of the summer I never expected him to look twice at me. Sure I was attractive but he was gorgeous; tall, perfectly tanned, dark hair that he usually wore gelled up in the front. Not only that but his body was flawless and the only person I had ever seen with a body that nice was Morelli. But we were friends and I didn't swoon over his body the way I did over Kyle's. Even if the farthest the swooning ever went was heated make-out sessions. I wasn't opposed to having sex, especially with someone that looked like Kyle. But every time we got to that point I found myself freeze up and stop us from taking that next big step. _

_Now I have had a few different boyfriends and all were attractive and every one of them were definitely contenders in that department. But I couldn't do it… okay wrong wording; but every single time I stopped us. Which was a deal breaker in almost every relationship thus far. So when Kyle found out I was a virgin__** and**__ still wanted to pursue a relationship with me during the summer I couldn't turn him down. _

_For the party this evening I decided to throw on my denim skirt, a v neck blue tank top and matching flip flops. It was hot and I wasn't about to waste my time doing a bunch of stuff with my so I pulled it into a messy bun on the top of my head; letting the curls go every which way. My eyes flickered over to the clock; 10 pm—my family was asleep and Kyle was supposed to be waiting for me in his car at the end of the block. I shimmied my way out the window of the bathroom and ran as quietly and quickly as possible until I reached Kyle's red sports car. _

_The second I was in the car; Kyle took off after giving me a kiss of course. Tonight Kyle was sporting a white V-neck shirt that enhanced his amazing bicep muscles. "Looking good, Steph." He said with a wink, flashing me his pearly whites with a heartstopping smile._

_"I could say the same about you, baby." _

_As soon as we walked into the backyard of the party the classics sounds of a drunken party in full swing echoed around the fenced in yard. But I let out a scream when someone came up behind me and flipped me over his shoulder. Once I realized I was staring at the best ass in Trenton; I couldn't help but laugh. Even though it was obvious Morelli had already had a few drinks; he was still cautious to keep what was under my skirt hidden. Even if I opted for a bikini top and bottom instead of a bra and underwear; it was still nice to know the rest of the party couldn't see what I was wearing. _

_There was a wet bar in the corner of the back yard and once we reached it Joe flipped me back over his shoulder and set me on one of the stools. I reached my hands out and clutched onto his gray T-shirt to steady myself. _

_"4 shots of tequila." Morelli told the bartender ((and by bartender I mean someone who desperately wanted to be a part of the crowd, but wasn't cool enough to be invited as a guest)). _

_"Seriously Morelli, 4?" _

_"Two for you; two for me, Cupcake." The first two shots were placed in front of them and we both shot them back and slammed the shot face down on bar. "You're late as shit; you need to catch up to me."_

_"Ha, I don't think catching up to you is a possibility." We shot back the next one and he wrapped his arm securely around my shoulders and we started walking around the pool._

_"You should have come here with me, Cupcake. I've been here for about two hours and minus the drinking it's been boring as hell."_

_"Morelli, you know I have to wait for my parents to fall asleep before I can sneak out." _

_"You forget that if you would have hung out with me first, Mommy dearest wouldn't care about where you were if you were with me."_

_"Oh, yeah—you think so?" I asked, doubting him._

_"Absolutely."_

_"And what makes you so sure of yourself?"_

_Joe swayed a tad and moved from my side to stand in front of me, clutching onto my shoulders. "It's simple, Cupcake; because I will always take care of you." I couldn't help but smile and throw my arms around his neck._

_"You're the best, Joe." I placed a kiss on his cheek and felt a hand clamp around my waist and pull me out of Joe's arms. My eyes shot from Kyle to Joe and easily saw the glare of two alpha males. _

_"I think you've monopolized my girlfriend's time long enough, Morelli." Before Joe could respond Kyle pulled me along with him to a different group of friends._

_"What the hell, Kyle! Why do you get like that, you know we're friends."_

_"So what?" I shoved his arm off of me and stomped off to the bar where I engaged in a long conversation with the poor kid stuck working as bartender._

_A few hours and many drinks later the noise level began to rise as did the music on the stereo. Multiple times Kyle came over and tried to talk to me but I was too comfortable sitting at the bar. When I was finally ready to go join Kyle I drunken stumbled my way over to him. But without realizing what was going on someone's arms were around my waist and we were launched into the pool. The hands holding me moved from my waist to my arms where they pulled me up above water. When I opened my eyes Joe was soaking wet next to me, cracking up—and I couldn't help but join in laughing. And while many other people joined in by jumping into the pool we engaged in a splashing contest. When I finally emerged with Joe, Kyle was standing right there and pulled me into the house._

_Even with my blurred vision I could see he was furious. I barely kept my feet under me while he pulled me through the house into the master bedroom. Walking straight into the bathroom he pulled off my soaking wet top and slid my denim skirt over my hips. He replaced them over the shower rod and pulled down the large towel and wrapped it around my shoulders._

_"Damnit Steph, I know you're friends with Joe but can he keep his hands off you for one Goddamn night!"_

_"What are you talking about!?"_

_"You just let him treat you like his property."_

_Now I was furious; no way was I ever going to just let anyone talk about Morelli like that. Not only was Joe my best friend; he was the best person I knew. "I do not; he cares about me and we were just having fun."_

_"Well now I wanna do something that's fun." The look in his eyes was severe and the way he clutched his hands around my shoulders scared the shit out of me. His fingers dug deep in my skin and he walked us backward and threw me down onto the bed. Before I could try to move out of his grasp he was on top of me; working his mouth from my ear down to my chest. We had made out before many times; but the force of his lips did nothing to make me want to give in to his obvious wants. _

_"Get off me, Kyle." My arms struggled beneath his weight to try and move him off of me. Nothing was working; even if I would have been sober Kyle was easily twice my size and doubled in strength. The fear was taking over; but coming from outside I heard a voice calling my name. I knew immediately it was Joe and I knew even better that he was panicking. He must have seen the way Kyle stormed off with me so as loud as I could I yelled Joe's name. The glare in Kyle's eyes became down right terrifying and I hoped Joe would hurry up and get here._

_"Hey!" Joe's voice came from over Kyle's shoulder and just as Kyle turned to yell at Joe; he received a punch square in the face that knocked him off the bed onto the floor. Morelli's arms were quickly around me and lifting me off the bed, with the towel still clutched around me. I could tell it was taking everything in his power not to go all out on Kyle, but his concern for me overtook the other side of him. The bartender also happened to be the DD so Joe pulled him to the car and immediately we were on our way home. And by home, I mean Morelli's house. We got there and snuck into his room; after supplying me with sweats to change into we laid together in his bed._

_The fear I had experienced was replaced with exhaustion and especially now that I knew right here I was safe; all I wanted to do was sleep. So with Joe's hand softly smoothing back my wet curls my eyelids shut with the extra weight they were experiencing. The last thing I heard before sleep overcame my body was Joe whisper; "I told you I'd always take care of you, Cupcake."_

**OoooOoooOoooOoooO**

**Present Time:**

We arrived at my place and there was no sign of Austin; although I could tell Joe was hoping to run into him. I hopped in the shower and stood under the warm water longer than normal. When I got out I brushed through my curls and threw on a pair of sweatpants; Joe was stretched out on my couch watch the game. I knew I should politely thank him and sit in the recliner instead; but the need to feel safe and comfortable overtook the whole polite thing. I let myself lay on top of Joe and he simply acted like that was exactly what he expected I would do.

Seeing that he wasn't going to push me away I nuzzled my face into his chest and began to close my eyes. I could feel Joe's hand softly smoothing back my hair and placed a blanket over me so my wet hair wasn't touching soaking through my T-shirt to touch my back. I watched the game with him but my eyes quickly began to close and the sound of Joe's soothing voice was the last thing I heard.

"I will always talk care of you, Stephanie."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** For those that read my story "Somewhere in the Middle" you don't need to read this. But just a heads up some personal matters are taking a toll on my emotions right now. So please be patient if I don't update right away. You guys are the greatest and I will try to update as much as possible though.

**Disclaimer: JE's characters – my version.**

Chapter Six

At midnight I woke up in the same position I fell asleep in; lying on Joe Morelli. The TV was still on and his arm was resting on my back as he slept too. My body yelled at me for lying in the same position for so long—and my head and heart were yelling at me for allowing myself to fall asleep on Joe. Before this would have been no big deal; he was _my_ Morelli and I had every right to curl up on him and pass out. Now things were different; he was _hers_ now, not mine and this was _beyond _inappropriate. It wasn't Joe's fault that my boyfriend was the epitome of douchebags last night, I should have just thanked him for the ride. And not by immediately jumping back into the way things were; even if we were still best friends in both of our minds. At some point we would need to stop these things; our friendship was going to change regardless because we weren't teenagers anymore. I mean when we're 40 and married to whoever, living our separate lives I couldn't expect to jump into his arms like this if I was feeling sad.

Before I woke him up though I needed a simple moment to remember this. Joe slept so peacefully, I could see the boy I knew and loved; it was hard to believe 10 years had passed us by. As gently as I could I rested my head back down against his chest and inhaled the mixture of cologne, Joe—and us mixed together. I took in the sound of his heartbeat and the feel of his hard muscles underneath my hands—_no more of this, Stephanie; he's Hallie's now_. With one final hug of I moved off of him; his eyes shot open with a panic as I sat up.

"My neck hurts like a bitch." Joe said sitting up, cracking his neck from side to side.

"We both fell asleep."

"I see that." He said with a smile. "You passed out and your body heat rose about 10 degrees and with the blanket over us I couldn't help but fall asleep. I slept surprisingly well too—minus the kink in my neck."

Okay, for someone engaged this did not seem like a normal reaction to realizing you just spent the last few hours asleep with another woman laying on you. Even if that other woman was your best friend; I couldn't see that mattering from Hallie's point of view. "Joe, it's midnight—you need to get home to Hallie. I can't believe I made you stay here with me."

Joe sat up more once I moved off the couch and tried to occupy myself by straightening my random tabloid magazines. "First of all; you didn't make me do anything—I wanted to be here. Secondly, Hallie doesn't live with me; I don't want us moving in together yet. So she's at home, and I don't see why it would be a problem."

My jaw dropped and I shook my head at him. "Joseph, nothing about this was right." _But it felt right_—my heart screamed out to me before I silenced it. "You are engaged and I have no doubt that the fact that you were sleeping with some other woman wouldn't sit too well with your _fiancée!_"

I put my hands on my hips to make my point come across as more serious. He moved off the couch and sauntered over to where I stood, and placed his hands on my arms. "You are not just _some_ woman, Stephanie. And this wasn't the first time we slept together."

My heart skipped a beat at his simple statement. He was absolutely right this wasn't the first time we slept together; only I didn't think he was referring to _that night_. We had shared a bed more times in my life than just about anyone, but only one night did we actually _sleep_ together. And that night changed everything. I quickly shoved that thought as far from my mind as possible; I wasn't ready to go there—yet. I could tell that Joe wasn't understanding what was wrong about taking a nap together. While I didn't exactly object to it; I couldn't allow myself to open up again to him completely. And as much as it hurt, I had to lay down the ground rules.

"I know it isn't Joe, but things are different now. You're engaged, I'm dating someone—we're not teenagers anymore. Adults don't cuddle up with their best friend; unless their best friend is their spouse. So thank you for being here with me and giving me a ride home; but you should probably go now." Even though he nodded in agreement—I could see the pain stretch across his face. I wanted to apologize and tell him I didn't mean it; but that wasn't fair….to either of us.

"I don't think that prick has any right to be considered your boyfriend after the way he treated you tonight." It was pretty incredible the way Joe's expression went from sad—to angry as hell.

"I'll deal with it." He wanted to say more but instead sighed in defeat and turned to put his leather jacket on. We walked in silence to my front door and before leaving he pulled me in for a tight hug and only released me a little to place a kiss on my forehead before backing away.

"Oh, I guess there's this engagement party Friday night at the banquet hall. It's going to be catered and everything."

"Well, that sounds fun."

"I want… no, I need you to be there, Steph. Please—for me?"

"What time does it start?"

"It starts at 6:30, it's a dress up kind of thing too." He said without hiding his lack of enthusiasm for the whole thing.

"Alright, I'll be there."

"Thanks, Cupcake." With a final kiss to my forehead, he was gone. I hated the way my house immediately felt empty; and even more so that whenever Austin left—I never felt this way.

As the week went by I ignored every call, text and email from Austin. Right now I could care less what he had to say; eventually I would talk to him but not yet. A part of me wanted to make up in time for him to accompany me to the engagement party Friday night. But I was sure that would only lead to another embarrassing display of Austin's delusional beliefs of his 'power' over me. Joe text and called me everyday reminding me of the party; surely to make sure I didn't back out at the last minute and use the 'I forgot what day it was' excuse.

Friday after work I came home and got ready for the party; that I suddenly wished I hadn't agreed to attend. I could only imagine how awkward and comfortable I was going to be tonight. Maybe I will just make an appearance, say hello—grab some cake, then go home. It doesn't have to be an all-night event.

After settling on a deep purple form fitting dress with off the shoulder sleeves, and a pair of silver heels, I turned my attention to hair and make-up. I took a little extra time on my hair; making my curls look flawless, with an extreme number of extra mascara swipes. I moved my stuff from my large every day purse to one more suitable for this outfit; then I was out the door. The entire drive to the banquet hall I gave myself a pep talk that I _could do this!_ Even though in reality I was shaking from head to toe with nervousness.

The hall was decked out in hundreds of beautifully colored different flowers. There was a steady flow of soft elevator music playing and the smells coming off the food made me practically drool before I even entered the room. I immediately felt out of place as I saw close to a hundred of Hallie and Joe's friends and family. My feet began to turn away from the room and leave but I stopped in my tracks when I heard Joe's voice yell to me.

"Cupcake! You're here." Joe walked to me in 3 long strides and immediately pulled me in for a hug.

"Yeah well, I almost forgot it was tonight. Thankfully though I received about 50 messages reminding me the date and time." Joe smiled the boyish grin that I had seen a million times before.

"I didn't want you to miss it."

"Well, I promised I'd be here. There are so many people here." I saw him nod and when he met my eyes I could tell he was just as overwhelmed as I was.

"I don't know half of them; Hallie and our parents put this thing together. I was just told where it was and when to show up; it'll be the same for the day of the wedding."

"Don't you want to be a part of the planning?"

Joe shrugged his shoulders to brush it off; but he couldn't fool me. I know that he had a vision for what he wanted and even though we had only talked about it twice—I knew this wasn't it.

"Stephanie!" Hallie approached us wearing a drop dead gorgeous blue dress. She gave me a one armed hug before wrapping her arm through Joe's. I was more interested in the glass of champagne in her hand; while I hated the stuff—it was alcohol, and _that_ I needed. "We're so happy you could be here to help us celebrate." She flashed me her pearly white smile before turning to Joe.

"Baby, my grandparents want to talk to us." For some reason the sound of her voice suddenly resembled the sound of nails on a chalkboard. This was going to be a long ass night if I didn't get something to drink right away. Joe glanced my way, afraid to abandon me but I smiled and told him I'd be fine.

There were round tables placed all around the room and walking carefully between them were servers. Some carried food but the ones I was interested in were carrying champagne. It wasn't long after I finally got myself a glass before I heard a familiar voice approaching me.

"Well well well…. If it isn't my favorite almost sister-in-law." Tony Morelli, Joe's oldest brother said as he approached me. Unfortunately, I had just taken a sip of my drink so I quickly threw my hand over my mouth to keep from spitting my drink out in shock. I noticed a few elderly people staring at us with a curious look on their faces.

"He was totally kidding!" I said with a nervous giggle; they all resumed their conversations, apparently uninterested in us anymore. Tony closed the space between us laughing as he pulled me in for a hug.

"You know I have a couple other brothers; I could have been talking about them. Shit, I got a couple sisters too; maybe I meant them—doesn't have to be Joe." I rolled my eyes as I smiled giving him a proper hug.

"Tony Morelli, you clean up nice." I said motioning to his black suit and silver tie. He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Joe's punk ass owes me for this. But you look amazing; you grew up nice, Plum."

I couldn't help but laugh, and I was already more comfortable being here now. Tony was the one that gave Joe the most shit growing up; but we also somehow bonded and being around him made me realize it wasn't just Joe I missed. It was the Morelli's; they were practically my family growing up.

"Thanks, the rest of your family here?"

"My sisters and mom are; they're around here somewhere. Truthfully, I'm avoiding them because every time they see me they rope me into doing some ridiculous ass task."

Our attention was averted to the small makeshift stage as Hallie's voice echoed through the speakers.

"Hello everyone, can you take your seats please?"

While everyone moved to where they planned to sit, I grabbed a hold of Tony's arm. "How about we hide out together?"

"Deal." He said with a smile and we sat down at one of the tables in the back with a group of people neither of us knew.

"Now before we all begin to eat I wanted to say a few words." Tony snickered.

"That girl never just says _a few words_; she never _stops talking_." I had to bite my lip to keep from bursting out laughing at Tony's irritation with Hallie.

Thankfully only the people at the table heard him; but their attention turned back to Hallie as she continued. "Joseph and I would like to thank you all so much for being here to celebrate our engagement. Not many of you know how Joe and I met and while the story itself isn't the most interesting one—the moment itself was. We were both exhausted from long work weeks and were trying to energize ourselves with some coffee. We were both served the other's coffee and when we exchanged the drinks—in that moment I knew. When I looked into the eyes of the most attractive man I had ever seen; I knew I was looking at my soulmate. And every single day since then has been just as special and wonderful as the feeling of love at first sight that we _both_ felt. Now, you all being here to join us in celebrating what true love is; means more than we could ever express. So from the bottom of our hearts; we thank you." Everyone clapped and Joe stood to give Hallie a kiss; while I shot back my champagne. Tony slid me his glass and I didn't hesitate to down that one too.

I chanced a glance at Tony that was looking at me with just about as much pain as I was feeling. I bit down on my lip again; but this time it was to hold back the rising lump in my throat. Tony wrapped his arm around me and gently rubbed my shoulder; _why was I so damn upset about this!_ What'd I expect? I was at an engagement party; and I was sure this was just the beginning of sappy ass love stories. Maybe I should have taken a cab here; who knows if I'll be able to drive home after all the drinks I was in need to consume. Tony got us a couple more drinks and then dinner was served. All throughout dinner Tony and I sat laughing and catching up on what was going on in our lives. It hadn't even occurred to me that the Morelli family would be here; but when I spotted the Morelli woman sitting next to the happy couple—I decided I'd say hi later.

After dinner the talking and moving around resumed; but Tony and I stay seated and continued our conversation. It wasn't until I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders that I looked away from our conversation. Joe was standing behind me but was staring at Tony.

"The girls are looking for you."

"Christ." Tony murmured out and I couldn't help but giggle. "Okay, well I'm going to go hide out at the bar."

"Yeah right, they have the bar surrounded cause they assume that will be the first place you'd go."

"Fuck, well lucky for me—I brought my flask, so I don't need to hit up the bar just yet!" Tony leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek before standing. "Let's get dinner sometime, Plum. I've missed you."

"You too, Tony. And dinner sounds great." I smiled and waved good bye as Joe sat down in the seat Tony had just abandoned.

"You're going on a date with my brother now?" Joe asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"I wouldn't call two friends catching up a date."

"Well, why don't the three of us go out some night?" I couldn't help but smile at Joe's hesitation for Tony and I to spend any time alone together.

"Sure, that'd be great." Joe smiled and opened his mouth to say something else but stopped when Hallie appeared at his side.

"Hey baby, your mom wanted me to tell you she needs to talk to you." Joe let out a sigh and placed a hand on my knee.

"I'll be right back." I nodded and smiled as Joe walked away. I was surprised to see Hallie take a seat in what has now become _thee_ musical chair.

"We haven't had a lot of time to talk tonight." Hallie said with a bright smile.

"Well, the bride-to-be I'm sure you have plenty of other people to entertain."

"You're right I do." Her tone suddenly went from sweet—to vicious. "And I just want to make sure you know that in a few short months _I_ will be Mrs. Joseph Morelli. Your sudden appearance in his life isn't going to change anything; I see the way you look at him. And let me tell you this, I may seem sweet and understanding; but if you try and come between the two of us—you better watch out." I was stunned, was she seriously _threatening me!_ "I know the two of you had a past; and if I have anything to say about it—and I will…. The two of you _will not_ have a future. Joe just needs to wise up and see you are nothing to him, and trust me—I'm going to make sure of it." Before I could respond a group of people swarmed Hallie and her sweet disposition returned. There was no way I could sit around here anymore; but in no way was I going to let her think she was controlling _my_ future. So I put one hand on the table and leaned in to reach her ear.

"You can do whatever you want; but I'm not going anywhere. And I can promise you, Joe isn't going to let you rid me of his life. So don't threaten me again." I moved my face back and flashed her a smile and a wink before I collected my purse and left.

I was agitated the entire drive home at what that little _bitch_ said. But the irritation I was feeling only grew when I stepped off the elevator and saw Austin waiting for me at the door. _What a super way to end the night—I needed a donut._


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Okay- this is more of a _warning_ than a note; this next chapter is probably going to make you angry with me! BUT I **_promise_** to make it up to you! Just bear with me! And I also want to thank you for your great reviews and showing me such support! It truly means a lot!

**Disclaimer: JE's characters- my version.**

Chapter Seven

"What are you doing here, Austin?" He ran a hand through his hair and I couldn't help but notice the bags under his eyes; and the unshaven look that he never let anyone see. It was easy to see how miserable he was doing but in case it was simply an act to _make_ me pity him; I wasn't going to give in to it.

"You haven't returned any of my calls, Stephanie." I moved past him to unlock my door.

"Most people would take that as a hint." Austin huffed out a sigh as he rubbed his bloodshot eyes this time with his hand.

"Please, I need to talk to you; this week has been hell for me, Stephanie. I need to explain my side of what happened." I let out a single laugh and turned to prevent him from walking into my apartment.

"Give me one good reason why I should listen to anything you have to say." Austin grabbed my hand and held it in both of his.

"Because I love you so much and if things between us are over; I need to at least say these things." The reason itself didn't overly move me, but I stepped aside allowing him access to my apartment anyways. We both sat down on the couch with our bodies angled towards each other; my hand was still in his.

"Stephanie, the person at dinner with you—wasn't me. I mean well it was; but I got home and immediately became so appalled with the way I acted. I don't consider myself to be a jealous person but I was beyond jealous to spend the evening with that guy."

"The evening was _your _idea, Austin!"

"I know it was and when I decided to go to dinner together it seemed like the best option. You never say much about Joe so I thought being there would make the way I felt easier. But for some reason the second I saw him it set something off in me and I became this awful jealous, possessive boyfriend."

"But why, I don't get it!"

"Because Stephanie, the way you have kept your past with him from me—it feels like you're still holding on to it. Like you're not willing to move on and get over him; whatever the relationship was."

"That's ridiculous." Even as I said it, I knew it didn't sound all that ridiculous after all. But I wasn't one to give up my stand in an argument.

"No baby, it isn't. But the point is I should have taken a different approach, but man the way he looked at you." Austin stopped and shook his head from side to side and sighed as if recalling a difficult memory.

"What do you mean by _the way he looked at you_?" Austin dropped his head down with a sigh before pulling up to look me square in the eyes.

"He looked at you the way I do… and I am in love with you."

After connecting the dots of what Austin was insinuating I immediately shook my head in denial. "Absolutely not, Joe Morelli does _not_ love me; as a matter of fact I just came from the happy couple's engagement party."

"Are you in love with him?" His eyes avoided meeting mine as he asked the question.

"I haven't seen the man in 10 years and I am in a relationship with you, Austin."

"That's not you denying it, Stephanie."

"I am not in love with Joe." Austin blew out a sigh of relief and took hold of both of my hands.

"Are you in love with me, Stephanie?"

The sad sappy look in Austin's eye tugged at my heart. As mad as I was at him; I could understand the way he acted- not that it made it better. But there was only one answer that came to mind for this question. "Yes Austin, I'm in love with you. That doesn't mean I'm not still completely upset with you." His responding smile lit up his entire face; and in a moment he went from sitting next to me on the couch down to his knees. Just _one _knee to be exact.

"Then will you marry me, Stephanie Plum?"

"What?" My jaw dropped to my knees as I stared at him waiting for him to say he was only joking or something of that matter.

"This last week without you—has been awful, and it didn't take me long to realize that was because I need you. You are the most amazing and inspiring woman I have ever met; and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He pulled a black velvet ring box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a shimmering square cut diamond with smaller diamonds going all around the silver band. My right hand flew over my jaw since the left was firmly in his grasp. "So please Stephanie, tell me you'll be mine and make me the happiest man in the world."

My eyes darted from the ring; to my very vulnerable looking left hand, then up to his waiting eyes. My head and my heart were torn; I was speechless and unable to formulate a thought. I wasn't sure how long I kept Austin waiting but somehow I managed an answer and told him with a simple nod of my head.

Austin smiled like the Cheshire Cat and slowly slid the ring onto my ring finger. "A perfect fit; just like the two of us." He stood from the ground and pulled me into his arms for a hug and a single tear, of joy I hoped, rolled down my cheek. "Why haven't you said anything, Stephanie?"

"I'm just speechless." He shot me a wink.

"I knew you'd love it, now I want to get you out of this darling dress and make love to my fiancée." Austin swept me off my feet and a giggle escaped us both as he carried us into my bedroom. And while Austin did some of his best work; I couldn't deny that my mind was somewhere else—but I just didn't know where.

I spent the weekend with Austin at his house; he invited both of our families over to his house for dinner on Sunday night. I was relieved to know no business partners were invited; because as important as I knew they were—I didn't think it appropriate to share the news of our engagement with them quite yet. My phone consistently buzzed in my purse and every time I looked at the caller ID it was always the same person: Joe. I wasn't sure if he was calling to see why I bailed out on the party so suddenly. Or if his _darling_ fiancée told him something about me, but he could also be calling just to get together. Either way—I wasn't ready to tell him the _big news_, and I didn't think I had the ability to hide it if we were on the phone.

Sunday night Austin's parents showed up first; Lisa and Adam. Both were dressed in custom fitted outfits that made them look flawless. Lisa pecked both of my cheeks and I made a point to compliment her outfit and new shoulder length blonde hair cut. Lisa was the type of woman that _knew_ she looked good, but expected everyone else to tell her just _how_ good she looked. Adam gave me a handshake, he was a man of the handshake—probably because a hug could wrinkle his thousand dollar suits. They immediately joined Austin in the living room and settled into their long boring business conversations.

Thankfully Lacie was the next to arrive, relief flooded throughout my body at the sight of her. The blonde hair was something that ran in their family and Lacie's was long and perfect. I never saw a strand out of place and I assumed snarls didn't dare touch her hair. We exchanged a hug and talked a few minutes before she headed in to find herself a glass of wine. I was going to follow her but saw my parent's car pull up; so I stood at the door to greet them.

Before they even reached the front door I could see my Grandma Mazur's mouth yapping away; and the beet red color of my dad's face told me it was something he didn't want to listen to.

"There's beer here right?" My dad asked as he reached the step first.

"Of course, tell Austin to get you one." With a quick pat on the shoulder he walked inside in search of his sanity.

"Hello dolly!" My Grandma sung out to me as her and my mother stepped up to the door.

"Hey Grams, hey ma." They both placed a kiss on my cheek and walked inside. Grandma Mazur wrapped her arm through mine as we headed to the living room to join the others. My dad had successfully found the beer; Lacie was playing on her cell phone, while the others continued in their business conversation. Austin smiled and walked over to me when I entered the room; we had previously decided we would tell the families before dinner. That and Alex wanted to hold onto my ring until we told them so as not to ruin the surprise.

"Thanks for coming, Stephanie and I have some news." Austin said as he reached a hand into his pocket.

"You're pregnant!" Lacie squealed with eyes wide with excitement.

"No, definitely not pregnant." I hurried to get out as all the women's eyes bore into me.

"This is better." Austin said with a smile and a wink. "The other night Stephanie agreed to be my wife, we are officially engaged." He slid my engagement ring on the finger it would remain on till the end of time. Lacie immediately jumped up and gave us a hug first; Austin's parents gave me a brief welcome-to-the-family hug. My dad muttered out a _Congratulations _to us; but what most surprised me was the reserved reactions from my mother. Grandma Mazur was already lost in a conversation with Lacie about the bachelorette party they were planning.

Our conversation over dinner was simple; Lisa and Adam pulled out their palm pilots and discussed the best date for the wedding—based on other business events. I even heard them talk about where Austin and I would spend our honeymoon; in relation to certain planned business trips. The bachelorette talk continued from Gram and Lacie; my dad was having an intimate with every bite of food he shoveled into his mouth. And my mother continued to watch me silently as she ate; I wanted to show her how excited about this wedding I was. But I convinced myself I was still in the 'processing stage' and eventually the excitement would strike me. I'd be thankful for the great catch I found in Austin; we'd have a big house, plenty of money and I would become part of a respectable family. This is what everyone wanted—right?

By the end of the meal I think other than "pass the salt", I hadn't said a word. We said goodbye to Austin's family, and my dad and Grandma Mazur. But before my mother went she pulled me into Austin's den and placed her hands on my shoulders.

"Are you sure about this, Stephanie?" This surprised me, my mother had always wanted me to get married _especially_ to someone like Austin.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Her eyes darted around the room before meeting mine again. "You mean besides the fact that you haven't said more than one thing all night? I can't help but wonder about Jo…" I rose my hand to silence her.

"Don't go there mom. This isn't his concern, he's engaged—and now I'm engaged. All happy, jolly good things going on here."

"But…"

"No, please—no buts tonight." I was sure my mom was going to make a point that I wouldn't be able to talk myself out of. I had to believe what I was doing was right; and this would only lead to happiness. My mother nodded in agreement and after saying 'Goodbye' to Austin to left too. Austin went upstairs to shower and get ready for bed; while I cleaned up the dishes from dinner.

When my phone rang I looked at it expecting to see Joe calling; instead it was a number I didn't recognize.

"Hello?"

"Plum! It's Tony Morelli."

"Tony Morelli—how'd you get my number, Joe give it to you?" I asked with a laugh.

"Ha!" He laughed. "That fool refused to give me your number, but I have other ways of getting what I want."

I couldn't help but laugh. "What is it about you Morelli boys trying your damndest to get my number; but don't even bother to ask me for it?"

"It's more fun this way! Listen, I'm on my break from work so I only got a second. Tomorrow's poker night at my house; you're coming."

"Is that so?"

"Hell yeah, Plum. All the beer you can drink, get to catch up with me. Hell, you might even be able to take some of my money; plus I promise your drunk ass a safe sober ride home."

"Tony! Tomorrow's a work night."

"Jesus Plum, you still sound like you did in high school." He mimicked my voice as best as possible. "Not tonight Tony, it's a school night." I clutched an arm around my stomach as I laughed at the memory of how many times I had said those exact words.

"C'mon please say yes, Steph! I miss ya, girly!"

"Alright, I'm in."

"Excellent! I'll call you tomorrow with more details, gotta run!" I hung up the phone and couldn't help but notice for the first time all weekend; I was smiling.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: JE's characters—my version.**

Chapter Eight

When I told Austin I was going over to Tony _Morelli's_ house on Monday night for a poker game; he was surprisingly okay with it. As he claims though; he doesn't need to worry anymore because as he saw it—I was already _his_. I suppose the thought of that should give me warm fuzzies all over—but I didn't. I've never been engaged before so for all I knew, this was exactly the way everyone else felt. At work I called Austin and told him since I didn't know when the game would be over I'd just be going back to my apartment so I didn't wake him. Once again this wasn't an issue for him. Tony called and gave me the address of his place and told me to show up any time after 7. And to be prepared for two things; 1) to lose a ton of money and 2) to get good and drunk. The entire time I was in the shower after work I contemplated whether or not it was okay for a newly engaged woman to get '_good and drunk'_.

Once out of the shower I scrunched in some curl enhancing gel and a little hair spray. I decided to wear a pair of jeans that hung nice around my butt and thighs and flared out around the ankle; and I paired that with a black V-neck top. My make-up strategy was to pack on the mascara and add a light pink lip gloss in attempts to distract the boys from playing their best games. Maybe I couldn't hustle them with poker talent; but I sure as hell was going to use my looks to my advantage. In a very classy, respectable way of course.

When I was almost ready to go I called a cab to pick me up; since I decided Tony was going to make good on his promise to get me drunk—I could at least be safe. I slipped into a pair of black heels and leather jacket then headed out to meet the cab. Tony was standing outside smoking a cigarette when I pulled up and a huge grin spread over his face as he exhaled his puff of smoke. Before I had a foot out the door Tony had jogged to the cab and knocked on the passenger window. The driver rolled the window down and Tony slipped him a wad of cash.

"This should cover the lady's fare."

"Yes sir." The driver said, clearly uncomfortable with a guy leaning in his cab; wad of cash or not.

"You did _not_ have to pay my cab fare, Tony!" I said pulling him in for a big hug. He slung his arm around my shoulders as we walked toward the front door.

"Don't worry, Plum—I'm planning on winning it back tonight anyways."

I threw my head back in a sarcastic laugh. "Oh Tony, still as cocky as ever I see." He shot me a wink as he led me down to the basement.

It was like descending into a party utilizing a fog machine a little more than necessary. Right away though I knew that was just the smoke from their cigars. Before I even reached the bottom step I heard some familiar voices that put a smile on my face. Joe's two other brothers Gino who was 3 years older than Joe and Trey, who was the same age as I; stood up and let out a couple wolf whistles when they saw me.

Trey was the first to pull me in for a hug. "Tony, told us Joe's old friend Stephanie was joining us tonight; but damn Plum—you are looking good, girl."

"I've missed you too Trey." I said with a laugh, as I got passed off into Gino's arms for a hug.

"Man have I missed you, Steph." Gino didn't hesitate to give me a pinch on the ass; I smacked his arm with a smile.

"Watch the hands, mister! I am an _almost_ married woman." I said holding up my left hand to reveal the huge rock that was now occupying the space on my ring finger.

"Whoooooweee!" Tony said taking my hand in his to examine the ring better. "My brother know about this?" He asked raising his eyebrow.

"Two out of three of your brothers know."

Tony let out a laugh and shook his head. "They're not the ones I'm talking about." I just shrugged my shoulders as a response. Next up to hug me was their cousin Mooch who also examined my ring.

"Do me a favor, Steph—don't show that to my wife. She's going to get a little _rock envy_ and I don't make the kind of money that your man does." The other two guys were friends of the Morelli guys; Stanley Skulnik and Ray Daily—they greeted me with a wave and a nod.

"Will somebody get this beautiful woman a beer!" Trey bellowed out as he wrapped his arms around me and sat me down at the octagon shaped poker table between him and Stanley. Joe's brothers all looked quite similar to him; dark hair, dark eyes, easy on the eyes and a hard muscled-lean body. Even if I was engaged; I could definitely enjoy this view.

Gino set down a beer in front of me and placed a kiss on my cheek before taking his seat. I pulled a hundred bucks out of my jacket pocket before slipping it off, and handed to Tony to get me my chips. "So what lucky bastard won your heart, Plum?" Trey asked resting his arm on the back of my chair.

I slammed down about half my beer before answering. "His name's Austin Hamilton; he's a lawyer."

Gino let out an exasperated sigh, "Jesus, is this the Austin that Joe won't quit bitching about?" He asked Tony who responded with a smirk giving them the answer that they already expected. I couldn't help but be a little surprised that Joe had mentioned Austin to his brothers. Sure I knew he didn't like the man; but I didn't see why he would talk about it to them. Luckily though I already had my best poker face on so they didn't see the confusion on my face.

"Speaking of Joe—he coming tonight?" Mooch asked and I couldn't help but smile when he replaced my empty beer with a fresh cold one.

All the guys at the table let out a few laughs; apparently I completely missed _that _joke. "Shit Mooch, you know that all depends on that fiancee of his." Trey answered for all of them; and Mooch rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah, shit we might as well start counting him out of poker night."

"You bet your ass we should; if she had her way he'd been on a permanent leash attached to her hand." Gino joined in. So the boys didn't like Hallie—I really had to control my poker face to hide back the smile that realization was bringing me. Not that it mattered; I didn't care, right? _No—of course I didn't care; _it's not like _I_ was marrying the girl.

Gino took a swig of beer and pointed his finger at me. "Does Joe know that Steph's here?"

"Nope, I didn't tell him." Tony said, sliding my 100 dollars worth of chips to me. "If he isn't going to try and get away from Hallie's crazy ass to make it to poker night; he doesn't need to know about our special guest this evening."

"Let's go Tony, deal the cards." Ray yelled to pull them out of their Joe rant. We all threw our ante into the center of the table as Tony dealt out the first hand. The boys continued puffing away on their cigars and resumed their very serious looking poker faces. In actuality it took everything in my power not to burst out laughing; but then again I was always the laugh-in-a-dead-silence kind of girl. I finished my 2nd beer and folded my crap hand before getting up to grab another beer for myself and all the boys. When I sat back down Trey's arm resumed its place around the back of my chair.

Trey had always been a huge flirt (like the rest of the Morelli boys) and in the past there was always some chemistry there. But nothing ever came from it; and I was willing to bet all the pairs of shoes in my closest that Joe was the sole reason for the lack of flirtation. Trey was attractive but aside from the fact that I was in a relationship; there had never been any connection on a level other than attraction. But hey, if that somehow allowed me to win a few extra bucks tonight—game on. And if I was to be completely honest; it didn't matter to me if I left here with losing all I put in—I was still happy just to be here. The Morelli boys had always been great to me and they were all a part of my family in my mind.

Trey won the first hand and immediately the curse of the Morelli arrogance took over his demeanor. "Stephanie, I'm going to win this game tonight and treat you to a real special date." He said with a wink and I once again held up my left hand.

"You're a little too late."

"Yeah, we'll see." He said with a smile and a wink.

"Shut your trap Trey, I'm not about to listen to you spit game on my almost-sister-in-law here." Tony said as he chucked the cap of his beer at Trey's forehead.

Trey ducked and started laughing. "Tell me how you figure her to be your _almost_ sister-in-law." Tony simply looked at me and sent me a discreet wink before dealing out the next hand.

Three hands later and _plenty_ more beers later I was actually up in chips; the power of being a woman! Trey and Tony were still going back and forth about asking me on a date—followed by Tony chucking another beer cap at him. Mooch and Gino continued their chat about Hallie—or _Hades_ as they called her. Ray and Stanley remained fairly quiet but continuously chuckled at the banter between the Morelli clan. I was finishing up my 6th beer and pulled in another winning hand and flashed the irritated boys my best innocent/flirty smile.

"Okay, I take that back sweets—you can take _me on_ that date since you seem to be cleaning me out." I held up my hand once again to Trey; he rolled his eyes and let his head fall back.

"We need to start playing strip poker; and just get you stripped out of that damn ring."

"Why? You want to be engaged to Austin, Trey?" I asked with a smile.

He scrunched up his face like he suddenly got a whiff of something bad. "He doesn't exactly sound like my type."

"Or _hers_." Tony muttered to himself. Suddenly all our heads turned to the stairs as we heard them creak under someone's weight.

"Well well well, the ol' ball and chain let you out tonight?" Gino belted out to Joe before he even reached the basement floor.

"He must have been a very good boy." Trey said in a mocking voice, all the boys laughed. Then Joe appeared and immediately caught sight of me and froze before a huge smile spread over his face.

"What are you doing here, Cupcake?"

"I invited her punk, so don't insult my guest." Tony said, already starting to get Joe's chips ready for him.

Joe glared at Tony until he met his eyes. "Well why the hell didn't you tell me Steph was coming?"

"How was I supposed to know you'd want her to come?" Tony said in a very innocent voice, ending with a smirk. Joe went to the fridge and pulled out beers for me and him. He set them both in front of me and he turned to face Stanley who was puffing away on a cigar.

"Skulnik." Joe said to get his attention. "You're in my seat."

Stanley rolled his eyes and looked at him, waiting for Joe's expression to show he was joking. "You're fucking with me right?"

"Does it look like I am." It was a statement—not a question.

"You expect me to move all my chips over a chair—when you could just sit in the empty seat next to me."

"Quit your bitching and move, Skulnik." Tony chimed in, causing every head to look from him back to Stanley. He huffed out a resigned sigh and moved all his chips as Joe took the seat next to me. Joe angled his body to face me and pushed Trey's arm off the back of my chair and replaced it with his own.

"I've been calling you all weekend, Steph. Why didn't you call me back?"

I could see the concern in Joe's eyes and it suddenly felt like my ring finger was burning; thankfully my hands were resting in my lap—under the table.

"Ha! She answered my calls, Joe." Tony said with a wink, only receiving a glare for Joe.

"I'm sorry Joe; it was nothing personal I swear. Just been a busy weekend." _To say the least._

Tony chucked a bottle cap at Joe's forehead this time. "Pay up to play or get out of my basement, bro." Joe pulled out his money and passed it to Tony, and set up his chips in front of him.

Tony dealt the cards out and without thinking I reached out and grabbed them. But since Joe was sitting to my left; he immediately spotted my ring and reached out to grab hold of my hand.

"When did this happen?" His voice was scary angry sounding. I awkwardly pulled my hand free from his and laid it in my lap.

"On Friday."

"I saw you on Friday, you didn't have it when I saw you."

I wanted to avoid the conversation right now; but the way Joe's questioning eyes bore into the side of my head—I knew avoiding it was out of the question. "Austin asked me when I got home."

"And you actually said _yes_?" Joe asked with a tone of disgust.

"Obviously she said yes, dumbass. There's a fucking rock sitting on her left hand—what do you think?" Mooch chimed in.

"You seriously expect a beautiful woman like Stephanie to stay on the market forever?" Tony added.

"Plus, she's got a nice ass too—I would know." Gino said winking at me. I could practically see daggers shooting out of Joe's eyes at Gino.

"How would you know that?" Joe asked, his hand was clenched so tight his knuckles were white.

"Copped a feel when she came in." I could see Joe's jaw tense so I quickly placed my hand gently on the back of his neck the way I always used to in order to diffuse Joe's rising rage. Instantly his tensed up body began to relax; apparently this was still his calming spot. Or I suppose it could be me… _nah_, I'm sure Hallie can make him settle down too.

"It's okay Joe, I already smacked him for it." I said with a smile, his eyes met mine and the anger in them softened as he returned the smile.

"You're lucky I wasn't here to see that, dick." Joe put his arm along the back of my chair; once again pushing Trey's out of his way. I chanced a peek at Trey who looked really bummed out to see Joe was here. This was exactly how it had always been growing up; I was kind of shocked to see things haven't changed. Even with both Joe and I in different relationships—no _engagements._

"Can we get back to cards here; I have to get up early as shit tomorrow." Ray complained; and once again the poker game was back in full swing.

As the next few hands progressed I had another few beers and my state of being happily tipsy- turned to denying to be drunk. Joe only had a couple beers and spent more time talking with me than concentrating on his hand. A few times he even lifted my left hand in his and slowly turned my ring around; examining every single angle of it.

"This ring doesn't fit you, Steph." Joe added in randomly, with his eyes still focused on the ring.

"Sure it does."

Joe's lip twitched up into a smile. "I don't mean size wise, Cupcake."

"Then what do you mean?" I asked throwing in my chips to call the current hand; Joe had already folded so his brother's couldn't give him shit about losing focus on the game.

"This ring just isn't you; I never pictured you with a ring like this."

I added him skeptically. "You've pictured me with a ring?" Joe met my eyes and a slow smile spread over his face as he shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant sort of way. As if that was a completely _normal_ thing to say; I couldn't recall any conversations like this between us over the years. Our eyes were locked in what felt like a timeless moment and when I glanced away I noticed the illuminated clock on the wall said it was already midnight. _Shit!_ Not only did I have to get up early to go to work; I had also had about a dozen beers. I pulled my hand free from Joe's and stood up.

"I just noticed the time; I gotta go guys! Tony can you cash me out please?"

"You got it, Sweets." He pulled my chips toward him and began counting. I pulled out my phone and dialed the cab company; while I was on hold Joe offered me a ride. I turned him down—much to his disappointment. When Tony handed me my winnings and I noticed I was practically 300 bucks ahead I almost had a heartattack. Tony's wink told me he _may_ have added a little something extra to my winnings. I gave all the guys a hug goodbye and Joe folded his hand to walk me outside.

We stood at the curb waiting for the yellow cab and even though I had my leather jacket on to block the wind; Joe still held me close to his chest. "Hey Steph?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you happy?" The question threw me off guard a little; I pulled back enough to look into his face.

"Why do you ask?"

Joe shrugged his shoulders and moved one head from around my waist to trace the lines of my face. "You're important to me; and I worry about you."

"I'm a big girl, nothing to worry about."

Joe smiled a little. "That doesn't answer my question." Just then the cab pulled up-_ saved_. Joe placed a kiss on my forehead and stuck his head into the backseat.

"You better get her home safe, because if you don't I'll have your permit to drive a cab taken away so fast you won't know what hit ya." I smacked Joe in the chest and he smiled at me before placing another kiss on my forehead.

The cab driver apparently believed Joe's threat and obeyed every single traffic sign. More than halfway home I realized my keys weren't in my pockets; they must have fallen out of my pocket at Tony's. I didn't want to go back and chance being around those Morelli boys with this much alcohol in my system. Okay—it wasn't so much the Morellis (plural) as it was just _one_ Morelli. I told the driver the address of Austin's house and he turned the car around with a huff. I was certain he was ready to get rid of me so he could go above the speed limit again.

But I was irritated—to say the least—that every time I was around Joe; I didn't want to leave. He ignited a flame inside my heart that was hard to deny; but he wasn't mine anymore. He was _Hades_' and I had no right to wonder about him anymore. Okay—no more getting drunk with the very people I have seen as my closest friends and _almost_-family as Tony puts it. The cab driver pulled in front of Austin's house and all the lights were off—as I expected them to be. I paid the driver and went to the front door; there was no keyhole it was a keypad that you needed to enter the correct code in to gain entrance. I punched in the buttons and tiptoed into the foyer.

I used the railing to climb the steps to the bedroom so I didn't end up rolling backwards down them. When I opened the bedroom door I stopped dead when I saw Austin laying on top of another woman mid thrust. His head quickly turned around to look at me with a deer in the headlights look; the girl looked over his shoulder to see me. And the first thing that came to mind was: gold digger. Now I'm not sure if it was the all the beer; or just the fact that I had just been released from the burden that had only been sitting on my finger for a couple days: but I burst out laughing. I pulled off my ring and flipped it into the dark room.

"Honey, if you're sleeping with him for his money; I'll tell you right now he's not _that_ good."

When I left the room I was still laughing; I pulled out my phone and called the cab company. When they told me it'd be another 20 minutes I called Tony and asked for a ride. He told me to stay put and someone was on their way. So I waited patiently on the front boulevard—laughing my drunken head off.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: JE's characters—my version.**

**Author's Notes: **Tissue Warning** Also I recommend a song to listen to while reading this chapter. It will make the reading more powerful; I wrote this chapter while listening to this song. Please enjoy and review.**

**Song: In My Arms by Plumb**

Chapter Nine

Even though I didn't dish on exactly what I walked in on; Tony was a smart enough guy to get it. I mean, I call and need a ride from my boyfriend's house—excuse me EX-boyfriend's house at 1 in the morning and need a ride home. About 2 minutes after I was waiting on the boulevard Austin came out of the house in a pair of sweats and a ratty T-shirt; I surprised he even owned one of those.

"Can we _please_ talk about this, Stephanie! I don't want to lose you."

"Ha!" I said letting another heavy flow of laughter escape me. "Come on Austin, give me some really fun excuse; like _it wasn't what it looked like_."

"It wasn't." Austin said; his classic lawyer debates were starting to come out. The policy of their company was _deny, deny, deny_; which unfortunately worked better than I would have liked. Austin could see his pleas were falling upon Deaf ears; and immediately kicked into 'survival mode'. "Stephanie, you can't just leave me!"

"Well I can, and I'm going to. Just as soon as my ride gets here."

Austin reached a hand out to grab onto my arm but I immediately yanked away from him. "Are you really going to throw away all the years we invested in each other? I'm sorry Steph, that girl means _nothing _to me!"

"Austin—my head has been in a fog since you proposed. My mouth said yes; but my heart and every single muscle in my body said _NO_. Even if you wouldn't have been riding some other chick tonight; it was _never_ going to work. And I am just _sorry _it took me so _DAMN_ long to figure it out."

"Baby, you've been drinking—please let's talk about this in the morning."

Now I was getting angry; how _dare _he try and make this okay! How _little_ he must think about me if he was willing to sleep with another chick; and while she was still in his house—try and win me back. I turned around and began walking away from Austin; praying he didn't follow me. Well _I_ was wrong! Austin grabbed my arm and I quickly whipped around to face him.

"Don't you _baby _me; and don't you _dare _follow me! Do you need me to spell it out for you that we are over! I don't want you Austin, I gave you back your damn engagement ring. Shit, go give it to the girl spread eagle in your bed! Your family already has the wedding date and honeymoon destination selected—that should work perfectly!"

I had been so heated in my argument that I didn't even realize my ride was here; none other than Joe Morelli. By the look on his face I could tell he had caught pretty much everything I had said to Austin. Joe's fists were clenched tight and the way he moved toward us; I knew he was ready to attack. I put my hands on my hips and looked at Austin.

"If I were you I'd duck…or run."

"Why?" Austin looked behind him just in time to connect with Joe's fist; throwing Austin down to the sidewalk clutching the spot on his face where Joe hit. I could see the wild fire spreading across his brown eyes; he was trying to control himself, but his self-control was only so good. He stepped over Austin's body and gathered me in his arms. I knew from the way he held me not only was he trying to be my protective Morelli; he was also trying to calm down.

"Tony sent you to get me?"

We both glanced down at Austin who was still on the ground holding his face in pain. "Yeah, when I went back inside he was already cashing everyone in." Joe shot a look behind him as Austin started to get to his feet again. "I suggest you get your pathetic ass back inside." His words were like venom and I could feel his muscles tensing in his arms under where my hands were resting.

"That was a cheap shot, Morelli!" Austin said standing up again, I could see him getting himself prepared to fight. There was no competition; Austin wasn't a fighter and Joe not only had 3 other brothers but also had a reckless childhood. I couldn't count on my fingers how many fights I had seen Joe get into growing up.

There was definitely a part of me that wanted to watch Morelli beat the piss out of Austin. But Joe had changed greatly and I didn't want him to spiral back down to the person he was fighting so hard against right now. "Austin, go back inside—your whore's waiting for you." I gave as a warning, but like a stubborn man he stood his ground.

Joe quickly released me and threw a left hook into the other side of Austin's jaw and landed a direct punch into his stomach. Austin resumed his position lying on the ground this time gasping to regain the air that had just been knocked out of him. Joe bent over him and positioned both hands on his thighs to balance himself.

"You are a piece of shit Hamilton; you just blew it with the most amazing woman. If you _ever_ try and contact her again, you'll be answering to me." I couldn't see Joe's face but if his expression was half as deadly as his voice sounded; Austin was more than likely shitting his pants right now. After another couple seconds of fixing Austin with the murderous glare in his eyes Joe turned around to collect me. Before I could get two steps towards the car I felt a hand wrap around my ankle.

"Stephanie, please don't go." Austin pleaded with me; but I wasn't expecting the sudden grab so my body fell forward. Thankfully Joe turned around quick enough to catch me before I did a chin dive into the cement. Once he had me back on my feet he landed a few strong kicks into Austin's stomach before I finally grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the car.

Joe was fuming when we got in the car I immediately placed my hand on his neck and softly moved my nails to help ease the kinks. We were a few blocks away when he had calmed back to a level that allowed him to relax. Thunder boomed overhead and moments later a soft rain began to ping against the windows of Joe's Explorer. I removed my hand from his neck but before it reached my hand; Joe grabbed it and pulled my hand to his lips. The soft kisses he placed on my fingers sent a whirlwind of feeling up my arm. He moved our hands from his lips and laced our fingers together with his eyes still focused on the road through the rain.

"What happened to us, Stephanie?"

I gulped back the rising lump in my throat. "What do you mean?"

"Why did I lose you?" I could feel a pain surging through my heart. _Lose me? He never lost me… it was me that lost him._

"I don't know." I lied; I knew exactly what happened to us. And just thinking about it still hurt like it did the day it happened.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Joe turn his face to look at me. "Please, Steph—I need to know."

"Do you really not remember what happened?" I asked, trying to hide the pain I felt thinking how he didn't know.

"I know we got into a huge fight; but I didn't expect us to go 10 years without talking about it. _Hell_, without talking at all!"

I averted my eyes from looking out into the darkness to examine my hands. "We don't have to get into this right now, Joe."

"Please."

"Well why don't you tell me what you remember." There was no way I was about to dive head first into the most painful part of my past; and have Joe not remember a single thing.

He blew out a sigh and took our intertwined hands and placed another kiss on my fingers.

"It was the night of your graduation from high school and we went to a party together like usual. You had a grip of guys hanging all over you and I just remember being crazy jealous—which wasn't something I was used to feeling. We always used to flirt; that wasn't anything out of the ordinary for us. But that night it was; I don't know if you felt it too but there was this insane connection between us that night." Joe stopped and looked to me for an answer; so I nodded.

"There was." I gave him the confirmation I could see he had been needing for 10 years.

"We ended up going to your house and it was like as soon as we shut the bedroom door and turned out the lights—everything changed."

We sat in silence both remembering the way things had changed after the lights went out.

_I was lying on my bed in the pair of cotton shorts and T-shirt I had changed into while Joe was in the bathroom. He returned and pulled the door shut and flipped off the light like he had done about a hundred times before. But the way the moonlight reflected on his bare chest and gorgeous face made my heart skip a beat. All night I hadn't been able to keep my hands off his perfect body; but his fingers reached out for me with the same need. We have shared a bed for years but tonight was different. My heart was pounding; I was nervous and scared, desperate and determined in a way I never imagined. For the first time I wanted Joe Morelli in every way possible; and for some strange reason I felt like he wanted me too. _

_I watched as he walked to the bed and inside of climbing in like he usually did—he held a hand out to me. My hand immediately reached out to grab his; our eyes never strayed from each other. Slowly Joe pulled me off the bed until I was standing in front of him; his hands moved from mine up my arms, over my shoulders and up my neck until he was holding the sides of my face. I lifted my chin to give him easier access to my lips; he closed the distance as our lips touched. I had kissed other guys before and even had extensive make-out sessions. But none of that could hold a candle to the way Joe's lips felt on mine; they were soft but also moved with a confidence that I had never experienced. As the kiss deepened I felt my legs turn to Jello; I had no intention to stop this moment and I let my lips spread apart to give his tongue access. The deeper the kiss got the more I wanted him; Joe's lips were magic and all along I had been missing out. _

_Joe's lips pulled away from mine; leaving a longing and desire for more. His hands left the sides of my face and grabbed the bottom of my shirt and slowly lifted it off and threw it down to the floor. Even though his shirt was already off I still longed to feel his perfect hard muscles of his chest. My hands reached out and splayed over his chest and ran down over his abs, I could hear him sigh with the contact. Now my lips were no longer simply craving the feeling of his lips; they wanted to explore more of this amazing man. I leaned forward and placed a kiss on his shoulder; a soft moan escaped and a desire shot through me to explore more. My lips softly kissed his shoulder to his neck where I allowed my tongue to taste Joe's perfect skin. I moved my hands up his body to his shoulders before feeling my way down his toned arms. Our hands laced together and Joe pulled me away from his neck enough to kiss me again. This time the desire between us was heating up and slowly Joe released one of his hands and placed it on the small of my back. He guided me backwards until my legs bumped into the bed; our bodies were pressed together and I could feel his need for me through his boxers. _

_I sat down on the bed and scooted myself to the middle; and Joe followed as he lay down on top of me. My lips were waiting for his but instead it was my neck that got to experience the magic of Joe's lips. A moan seeped out as Joe continued to explore my skin. When he pulled away to look into my eyes the usual dark brown color had transformed to a liquid chocolate color. _

_"We don't have to do this, Stephanie." This was my opportunity to say no and turn him away; but I didn't want that. I wanted nothing more than to rid myself of the desire that was now palpable between my legs. _

_"I want you." I whispered against his mouth, Joe pressed his mouth to mine and I knew he wanted me too. It didn't take long for the rest of our clothes to come off and I lay waiting while Joe slid the protection into place before lowering himself into me. I was lost in a mixture of feelings from pain to pleasure to desire; but there was something else I felt that I never expected I would: love. Joe moved over me and laced our hands together again as we ascend towards our climax. _

_In that moment it was like someone had turned on the light in a dark room I was waiting in: I was in love with Joseph Morelli. Not the friendship kind of love I had felt for Joe since the day I met him. My heart wanted him and only him. Our lips exchanged magic, our bodies were making love and my heart was beating a completely new beat. _

_We lay curled together once we had distinguished the intense passion. I knew I should be elated lying in his arms; but I knew Joe—he was known for hooking up with girls and nothing more. I couldn't help but wonder if I was just another one of those girls or if he felt the same way I did. The slow steady breaths of his rising and falling chest told me he was lost in sleep; and I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and sleep too. But I couldn't help but worry and wonder; I couldn't simply just go back to being Joe's friend. I was in love with Joe and I knew the only place I wanted to be was right here; safe, in his arms. _

"You're right everything did change." I told him after a few minutes of silence; I could feel tears sitting on the rim of my eye and I desperately longed to keep them at bay.

Joe sighed and I could see there were so many questions he longed to ask me about that night. "The next morning I woke up and you were so distant from me. You wouldn't look me in the eye; and you barely said anything to me."

I was surprised he remembered that; it was difficult to keep my distance but I knew I had to. Joe's reputation was no secret back then and if I was just another one of his random hook-ups, I couldn't let myself get anymore attached than I already was.

"I know."

"And then pretty much a week went by with you doing the same thing; I didn't know what was wrong. But you wouldn't talk to me and I got mad; the next time I saw you was when we had our screaming match. Then 10 years later I run into you again; and I have since wondered what I did that made you stay away from me."

There was pain in his voice and it was enough to send a few of my tears down my cheeks. All along I had kept my distance because I didn't want to just be another hook-up; I wanted more. But I wasn't going to ask him to give me what I wanted, because I told myself if he had wanted what I did—he would have made it happen. Joe wouldn't have stayed away from me; he was an absolute go-getter when it came to anything. If Joe wanted it—he would have it. He never came for me; Joe didn't want me like I wanted him. And for the last 10 years I had been guarding my heart from loving him. But sitting here talking about the past brought out the ache in my heart that I worked so hard to bury. I wasn't over him; but I had to be. I have spent too long hurting and hiding over this one person; I couldn't just give up now—it would ruin me.

I stayed quiet and noticed that Joe was slowing to a stop in front of his house. I threw open the door and stepped out into the pouring rain and began walking the opposite direction of his front door. The tears were falling without reserve now and my heart was screaming with the stabbing pain that only Joe brought out.

"Stephanie, wait!" Joe grabbed my arm to keep me from walking away but I refused to turn around and look at him. "You need to tell me what I did wrong. It has been killing me not knowing what I did to lose you, Stephanie. And I'm not going to let you leave me again without knowing." Deep sobs left my chest and he turned me to face him. His beautiful brown eyes were riddled with the same pain that was in my heart.

"You didn't do anything, Joe." I managed to say through the sobs.

"Then why did you leave me; why didn't you talk to me, Stephanie!" The grip he had on my arm told me I really wasn't getting away without a word this time. There was nothing I could say to make this moment end; other than the truth. So after a couple deep breaths I told him.

"Because I had fallen in love with you! I couldn't see you as just my friend anymore; and you wanted nothing more than to be my friend. I kept thinking of what it would be like to act like it never happened and just be like one of the other girls and it broke my heart. It was only a matter of time before you moved on to someone new and I didn't want to be around for it! That night meant everything to me, Joe."

"And what, you think it meant _nothing_ to me, Steph!" I shook my head as the tears continued to pour. He released my wrist as he ran his fingers through his hair a few times. I could feel my knees begin to shake—I couldn't stay here anymore. Now was my only chance to walk back to my parent's house; he had the information he needed…that should be enough.

I had only made it a few steps before Joe grabbed my arm and whirled me around to face him. His hands grabbed my face and our lips met with an explosive passion. Everything I felt that night was back; and stronger than ever. My arms wound around his neck as our lips and tongues explored with a need that I haven't felt since the last time our lips met. My heart was screaming out for him; the love I thought I had successfully buried for Joe was back. Joe pulled away but still held my face in his hands.

"It meant everything to me; you have _always _meant everything to me. When I said everything changed; it was because I was in love with you too. I still love you, Stephanie." His eyes searched mine looking for a glimmer of hope but all he found was my tears. My heart told me to kiss him again; close the distance I had put between us all these years. But I couldn't; Joe wasn't mine to love anymore.

"It's too late, Joe." I could see his heart break spread over his face. He was trying to find something to say to keep me from leaving; and I had no doubt that once I heard what he had to say—I would end up in his arms tonight. But I needed to keep my head on straight and stop this before it went too far. "You have Hallie now; the time for us is over." I removed his hands from his face and took off towards my parent's house with the feeling of the pouring rain cleansing my aching soul. As I turned the corner to leave Joe's block and shot a glance towards where we stood. I had to clutch the middle of my stomach as I saw him standing in the same place I left him with his head down. It took everything in me to resist running back to him; but I had to… some people just aren't meant to be. And as I saw it; Joe and I could never be together.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: JE's Characters—my version**

Chapter Ten

The next morning I woke up to a massive pounding headache that was the direct result of Morelli-shed tears last night. It took everything in my power to not turn around and run right back into Joe's arms; he _loved_ me. And I knew without a doubt I loved him too. That didn't change things though; Morelli was engaged and who knew what was going on with that. Morelli had a direct connection to my heart, and when I was around him things were amazing. Only around him did I feel like the person I was supposed to be; he made me confident, strong, ecstatic and no one made me feel beautiful the way he could. But that also meant when I was hurting because of him…the pain alone was unbearable. It felt as if an elephant was sitting on my chest; I couldn't breathe right and no matter what I did to try and move away from the pain—it wasn't going anywhere.

I had spent the better part of my adult life with that feeling as a constant reminder to the heartbreak I experienced. When you fall in love with your best friend you run the ultimate risk of losing everything that constitutes your world. And in the blink of an eye that's what happened to me. I still remembered the amazing night we spent together and the feeling of dread that quickly replaced the feeling of bliss in my heart. There was no way I could have just been Joe's friend after that night. Even though he claimed last night he had been in love with me; who was to say we'd still be together. We were still so young and could I really believe that in 10 years Joe and I would be this happy family? The chances weren't likely, and sometimes it's easier to take the immediate pain and move on than prolong it and only hurt more.

Except my problem was I never really did move on….did I? Sure I dated Austin and I told him I loved him—but I never _felt_ it. I didn't even have to tell Joe I loved him and the feelings were a constant whirlwind inside me; drawn to that man. There was also something else about him; whenever I was around him I could visibly see him relax. He could be _exactly_ who he was around me. There was no hiding from certain emotions that many wouldn't know Joe possessed. I did—I knew that Joe wasn't a crier, but when something came up that would usually initiate the waterworks in someone—Joe would squeeze my hand. It was like he was transferring the pain and sadness to me; and I soaked it up as efficiently as possible to protect _my _Joe. When Joe was on the verge of losing his control and send his fists into someone's face—I knew what to do. He needed a soft touch from someone that loved and cared for him.

That's when it hit me….I've been in love with Joe all my life. My feelings were finally revealed the night he took my virginity, but everything I knew about him was from the years we spent growing up together. Even as a reckless 16 year old who loved nothing more than picking a good fight; I had always been the one to calm him down. And I have _always _longed to protect him from everything; because the one thing I hated about all the foolish girls that hung on him was they didn't see who he really was. To them Joe Morelli was invincible and needed nothing real; I knew he slept with them. But I was the only one he let protect him when life became cruel. Like when his father had too many drinks and took his rage out on his sons; no one knew what it took to console Joe after those times—but me.

So maybe I _should_ have admitted to him that night exactly the way I felt. And exactly how much he meant to me and how I couldn't imagine my life without him. But it was hard to think like that when I remember the fight we had a week after; the fight that tore us apart.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

_I had successfully avoided Joe all week long, but I knew he was looking for me. The word had been spread quickly that Joe and I were in a "fight". It was one of the only times we had been in a fight since we became friends; so it was major news as far as the gossip clan was concerned. No one knew the real reason for the fight; but none of them had guessed correctly. I was convinced people in the Burg thought of Joe and I as brother and sister because Joe didn't make a move on me—and Joe made a move on everyone. And even though I had checked repeatedly in the mirror; I still felt like I had a big sign on my face saying "WE HOOKED UP!" _

_"Stephanie, your father and I are leaving now—are you sure you don't want to come?" My mother asked from the other side of my bedroom door; one of my cousins just graduated from college so there was going to be a big family get together tonight. _

_I was curled up in my bed—like I have been all week—and I quickly cleared away the tears from my throat before answering. "No thanks Ma, tell Joanie congratulations for me."_

_She let out a sigh. "Okay, have a good night tonight honey." I didn't bother responding, and after a few moments of silence I heard my parents leave the house. My mother knew something had happened between Joe and I, but didn't know what had really happened. But from my lack of enthusiasm to soak up the summer rays, the obvious decrease in my diet and the always present tear stains down my cheeks said it all. I had never been like this before but I knew there was only one thing I could chalk this up as….heartbreak. _

_Sure in the past I have dated and broken up with different guys; but never was I in love with them. And I always had my best friend there to make things better; and now he was the one person I wanted to talk to—and the one person I __**couldn't**__ talk to. My parents were going to be out pretty late tonight so now I was free to move my personal sob party down to the couch and watch some TV. I had only been curled up for a few minutes before there was a knock on the door. My first plan was to ignore it; but then there was another knock, then the doorbell went off about a dozen times._

_"Jesus! What!" I asked ripping the door open; this definitely wasn't the best way to answer the door. But when I looked up to see Joe Morelli I wished I would have just remained on the couch. _

_"I went to Joanie's Grad party and saw your parents and your mother said you weren't feeling well."_

_He tried to push past me into the house, I placed my hand on the doorjamb to keep him out. "I'm not. You should go, I'm probably contagious."_

_Joe rolled his eyes and pushed past me anyways. "Don't worry Cupcake, __**bull shit**__ isn't contagious." Before I shut the door I did a quick peek outside; and I swear there was about a dozen faces pressed against the windows to get a look. _

_"What are you doing here, Joe?" I was pleased to hear my voice came out stronger than I was feeling. _

_Joe stared at me with his hands on his hips like I was speaking a foreign language. "What am I __**doing**__ here?" He started pacing back and forth with determination and then his hands started waving around as the Italian side of him began to surface. "I haven't seen you all damn week, and whenever I call your mom says you can't come to the phone. No one's talked to you and I have to keep hearing from people that apparently we're in a fight—which __**I**__ didn't even know about."_

_No mention of being worried or concerned—just the fact that he's had to deal with the gossip my absence has caused. "Maybe I couldn't come to the phone—you ever think of that!"_

_"What the hell is going on—I haven't seen you since that night!"_

_"Yeah well, you ever stop to think maybe __**that**__ has something to do with it!" Now I was waving my arms around. The one downfall between Joe and I is we don't just back down from an argument. We don't talk calmly and discuss our issues—we yell, we dish out whatever we can to attack the other person and by the way things were going I didn't see a positive outcome to this fight. _

_"What does what happened that night change __**anything**__?" I felt my jaw hit the floor; how could he even say that!_

_"How does that not change __**everything!**__"_

_"Christ—it was just sex!" His words hit me with the force of a 10 ton wrecking ball. I have shed more tears in this last week than in my entire lifetime; I have hardly been able to eat a thing. All because I was afraid of this very thing—I wasn't just having sex with Joe; I had been falling in love. Now here I stood—and I was nothing more than one of those other foolish girls that slept with Joe Morelli. Why did I think I was different! _

_"Well if it was __**just sex**__ then what are you doing here! Don't worry; no one knows what happened between us so your street cred with the ladies hasn't been ruined!" Joe reached out and grabbed hold of my arm._

_"Are you saying what happened between us, wasn't just sex?" Yeah right—like I was going to admit what it was to me now!_

_I yanked my arm out of his grasp. "No—I'm saying it was a Goddamn mistake!" Joe's expression quickly changed from hurt, to anger to annoyance._

_"You know what the real mistake was, Stephanie!" I threw my hands on my hips; waiting for whatever attack was coming out of his mouth next. "The real mistake was wasting the past Goddamn decade with you!" The words stung me like the pain of 100 bees at the same time in my heart._

_"WHO ASKED YOU TO DO THAT!"_

_"You're right, Cupcake! What the hell am I doing here wasting my time trying to get my best friend to stop avoiding me!"_

_"Just like you said, you are __**WASTING**__ your time! So why don't you get the hell out of here, Morelli! And don't bother coming back cause I have absolutely NOTHING to say to you!"_

_We stared each other down for a few minutes and I'm surprised the rage being exchanged between us didn't swallow the house up in the flames shooting out of our exchange. When he saw I was absolutely serious he waved a dismissive hand at me._

_"Forget you then!" Joe stalked out the front door and once he had both feet out the door I slammed it shut so hard I was sure the entire house shook. I pressed my back against the door and sunk down to the floor; a new set of tears streamed out of my eyes. _

_"I hate you Joe Morelli." I whispered to no one as the sobs took over my body._

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Stephanie Plum!" My mother pounded her fist against my bedroom door a few times before letting herself in. After I left Joe standing in the rain I walked the rest of the way here and used the spare key under the mat to let myself in. This morning I had called into work; one because I had no car here and two because I was _not_ ready to face the real world just yet.

"What, Ma?"

"You are not going to lay in here all day; you need to tell me what happened! The phone has been ringing off the hook today; you've received about two dozen calls from Joseph Morelli and Austin. I keep saying that you're not here but they won't stop calling."

"I'm not in the mood to talk to Joe; and Austin and I broke up last night."

"Well how come! Was it because of Joseph?" The motherly worry was present in her voice; as it always was when Joe's name came up.

"I walked in on him in bed with another woman."

"That _little SHIT!_" I couldn't help but smile at her; she sat down next to me on the bed. "So why don't you want to talk to Joseph?"

"I really don't want to talk about it, Ma."

She was quiet for a couple beats, but I saw an internal battle taking place in her mind. "You're in love with him still aren't you?"

"Still?"

Her eyes rolled up to the ceiling at me. "You don't think I know how much you used to love that boy?"

I shrugged my shoulders as I bit down on my lip to hold back more unwanted emotion. "You never said anything about it."

"That doesn't mean I didn't see what was going on."

"You told me to let him go again, Ma."

"That's because I saw how much it broke you apart to lose him once before. But the truth is I always thought it would be the two of you getting married one day." I swiped away at the stray tear that had escaped.

"I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Well fine—if you don't want to talk about this with me; maybe you'll listen to your vistor."

"I have a visitor?" She nodded her head. "Who?"

"You'll have to go see for yourself."

I rolled off the bed and stood at the top of the steps and when I looked at the door I saw Tony Morelli. His expression was soft and I could tell he knew what was going on. I felt a whole new set of tears stinging my eyes to come out.

Tony held up my keychain that fell out of my pocket at his place. "I figured you could use a ride home." And even without saying more; he knew I needed _much more_ than just a ride home. I ran down the steps and let him wrap his arms around me as the tears poured from my eyes and onto his shirt.

**A/N: Thank you so much for all of your amazing support! I'm so glad you're enjoying my story! And I will continue to post as soon as I can. Just a heads up though—my next school semester starts tomorrow. So I'm sorry in advance if I don't update as much as usual. Like always—please review! Thank you! =]**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: JE's Characters—my Version.**

Chapter Eleven 

Tony managed to get me out to the car and through my choked out sobs he got us back to my place. I was glad when he stepped out of the car and followed me inside. Maybe he wasn't the person I wanted most of all to talk to; but Tony was a pretty solid second. Growing up Tony was the one of Joe's brothers I was closest with. Trey and Joe never saw eye to eye so he was never really around us; Gino spent most of his times chasing other woman—so he had no time for me either. Tony saw the way Joe and I used to be and if anyone knew the stuff we had gone through; it'd be him.

When we got upstairs Tony wasted no time grabbing a couple beers from my fridge and handed one to me as we both plopped down on the couch.

"So how much do you know about what happened after you sent Joe to come get me?"

Tony took a swig of his beer and stretched his legs out on my coffee table. "Pretty much everything. Joe beat the piss out of Austin; took you back to his place, you rehashed the past, he professed his _undying_ loved and you walked away."

Now it was my turn to take a drink. "He told you _all of that_?"

"Steph," He said rolling his eyes. "That poor fool has called me about a thousand times since last night. He's a mess and keeps asking me what he should do about it."

"What do you tell him?" I asked as I cringed inwardly.

"Normally, I would tell him to quick crying and go get his girl. In this case; his girl also happens to be a really good friend of mine." I must have had a confused look on my face, because he smiled and clarified. "You, Steph."

"But Hallie…"

"But Hallie nothing. My brother doesn't love her; he didn't want to even get engaged. She talked him into it and just think of it this way—you were with Austin, did you love him?"

"No." I answered without hesitation; even if I hadn't walked in on Austin playing hide-the-salami with another woman, I never could have gone through with marrying him.

"Well, think of your Austin—as Joe's Hallie."

"I can't just expect him to call off the engagement though for me; I mean we hardly know each other anymore. Sure, we were best friends and ended on awful terms—but it's been _ten years_."

Tony shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Do you think the two of you have changed that much? C'mon Stephanie, now I am _not_ a sappy guy so what I'm going to say _has _to be between the two of us—deal?"

"Deal."

"I have never seen two people more made for each other than you and my brother. The way you two have always been around each other; and the way you guys never _really_ moved on. That should tell you something in itself Stephanie."

I slammed down the rest of my beer and tried to regain my vision through the layer of tears in my eyes.

"I'm going tell you right now that Joe is going to call me about a dozen more times tonight and ask me what to do. He is so lost and so _damn_ scared to lose you again. You might not know this but when the two of you had your falling out—he was a wreck. Drank himself stupid, picked fights with everyone and at first I thought it was just him turning into the shithead we all became at that age. But on several occasions when he thought no one was looking I saw his head drop down and a few tears rolled down his cheek. I always knew you two were close and cared for each other; but it was then that I realized he was in love with you. And when I saw you around and saw how worn down you looked—I knew you felt the same way."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Joe had been as broken up as I was; but our stupid pride prevented us from going to one another. Just like last night there he was _the man of my dreams_ standing in front of me professing his love. And me being the fool I was—I didn't say it back. I was afraid of what would happen if I were to lose him again so it was like I was pushing him away on purpose to avoid a potential heartbreak. _Man am I screwed up or what!_

"Stephanie?" Tony asked, pulling me out of thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"What do I tell him? Should he back away from you and let you move on with your life or do I tell him to fight like hell to win back the only woman that has ever been in his heart?"

"Don't tell him to do anything. I don't want Joe to come for me because in a moment of weakness I was in his mind. If he wants to get married, if he doesn't—he shouldn't. I don't want to be the deciding factor of his future." Tony looked at me and nodded.

"I'll tell him to figure things out for himself."

"Thank you."

Tony stood to leave and I followed him to the door and before he left he took my chin in his hands. "I'm going to stay out of this and let things happen as they will. But I'm still praying that one day you'll be my sister-in-law." With that he placed a kiss on my cheek and was gone.

I didn't know what to think anymore. My heart was screaming at me to tell Tony that Joe needed to fight for me. We _needed_ to be together, but I meant what I said. I didn't want to be the reason Joe left Hallie; because what happens if in the future we did get together. Would he still be thinking of the life he could have had with Hallie? Joe needed to end things on his own terms, because she wasn't the one for him. That would be the only way I knew for sure that we could really be together; which I knew I would only admit it to myself—but that was what I wanted more than anything.

Joseph Morelli was a brilliant comet that had returned to my life, illuminating the darkness I never realized I was in. Without him around my life was dark and meaningless—I just had to pray that I was the light of his life as well.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

**Joe's POV**

There were very few times in my life when I was so emotionally handicapped that I couldn't function. And every single time it had to do with Stephanie. In high school when I watched every guy stare at her like she was the next item on their "To Do List"; I became an extremely jealous wreck. I never admitted this to Steph though; she had always worked in mysterious ways and the last thing I wanted to do was risk potentially losing her by stepping in. Then the night we had sex was the single most powerful and passionate moment I have ever experienced. And shortly after that I let my anger get the best of me and I said some things that I didn't mean. Little did I know that my next opportunity to take back what I said would arrive 10 years later.

I didn't mean things to go the way they did; and I had to admit I was scared shitless at the thought of a future with Steph. Not because I didn't want one with her—but because I wanted one _so_ bad that it was killing me to have nothing but silence between us. I had every intention to go over to her house and tell her I loved her and that she was the only person I could ever love. But those words never left me; instead I showered her with words that still haunted me. The last thing I said to her was _"forget you then"_ but that had been much easier said than done.

I had never forgot about Stephanie and now here I was…once again in the same position. I could feel it—I was on the verge of losing her forever; and there was no part of me that could handle that.

I was sitting on my couch when I heard the front door open. There was only one person I wanted to walk through that door—and I knew immediately it wasn't who I wanted. That was when Hallie's face came into view; her arms lined with bags containing more crap she didn't need. I had told Hallie many times before that I wanted to do things the 'old fashioned' way, and not have her move in until we were married. Truth was I couldn't stand the way she took over this place; I was a man of simple tastes—and this woman was the complete opposite. For the past couple of months now she has been bringing over bags of shit and stuffing them in my closets. There had been a few times I was tempted to throw the stuff out in the yard; but I knew she'd just buy more.

"Hey sweetie-cakes!" I inwardly shuddered at the nickname. The nicknames Hallie bestowed on me were all cutesy and nauseating; and usually were never the same.

Just seeing her in my house put everything into a perspective that I had been blind to in the past. I wasn't opposed to living with another woman—I was opposed to living with _this_ woman. Nothing about the comforts of this home I made my own after I inherited from my Aunt Rose were conducive to Hallie's styles. She didn't fit here, and she certainly didn't fit with me.

"We need to talk, Hallie." She moved toward me to give me a kiss, but I moved away from her.

"What's wrong snookie poo?"

"This isn't going to work."

Hallie didn't seem the least bit affected by my words. "I know, I was actually out looking at new living room sets; this stuff in here _has _to go. It should be illegal!"

This wasn't the first time she had insulted the furniture in my house; and usually I brushed it off without another thought. But this time I knew I couldn't deal with her obnoxious remarks and insult. Hallie wasn't just trying to change my furniture—she was trying to change me. Everyone else saw it; and it wasn't until Stephanie walked back into my life did I remember who I truly was.

"No Hallie, you are what has to go." There was a flash of shock that hit her face, before regaining composure and brushing it off.

"What are you talking about?"

"This isn't going to work—you and I. _We_ aren't going to work."

"Well of course we are; you're just getting cold feet, muffin lips. That's normal."

"No actually right now my feet are good and toasty about this decision."

Hallie eyed me down and her eyes darkened. "What is this _really_ about Joseph?" The way she said my name reminded me of the way my mother used to say it when I was being scolded. And there was nothing attractive about being reminded of my mother in a situation like this.

"This is about the fact that we are not right for each other—at all. I mean we don't really _know_ anything about each other; and what's more is I haven't really cared to know."

"What are you talking about—we know a lot about each other and we have the rest of our lives to get to know the rest."

I laced my hands and rested my chin on top of them. "What's my favorite color?" Hallie rolled her eyes at me.

"It's red, of course."

"It's blue; do you want to know why my favorite color is blue?"

"I give up—you like the ocean!" She was quickly losing control of the Stepford Wife persona she so regularly wore.

"Because that is the color of Stephanie's eyes." I swear I saw flames flicker in Hallie's eyes at my answer.

"So this is about _her_?"

"Not directly—even if Stephanie didn't come back into my life, things between us still wouldn't have worked."

"Are you in love with her?" She spit out the question at me.

An image of Stephanie smiling and laughing filled my mind. And even just the memory of her caused a smile to naturally spread over my face. "Yes—I do love her." I loved every part of her. I loved the way she looked in the morning; and the way her face always lit up when she saw me. I loved the way a simple touch from her could take away any pain or anger I was feeling. I loved the way her lips felt against mine, and I loved the way no matter where I was or what I was doing—just the simple thought of her made my day. And I was done hiding it and running from it. Stephanie Plum is the only woman for me and I knew deep down that she had my heart from the moment I saw her in her cute little pigtails holding out a cupcake for me. I was a Cupcake man—and that was never going to change.

"That's absolutely ridiculous! How on EARTH could you love _her!"_ The tone of disgust in Hallie's voice brought out my defensive side—she was talking about _my_ Stephanie like she was nothing but trash.

"You don't even know her Hallie—so I suggest you back away and leave it alone."

"Oh Joseph, you can't be serious here! She is a train wreck; she's ugly and has _absolutely NO_ redeeming qualities about her! You don't know what you're saying!"

That was it—she could insult my furniture and my lifestyle all she wanted but I was not about to let her trash talk Steph. I stood from the couch and planted my hands on my hips.

"You have no right to talk shit about her Hallie. I have never met anyone as transparent as you! You have no personality and you haven't once taken the time out to actually get to know me. Since we met I have been nothing but your damn Cabana boy and I'm done with this shit. You need to get out of my house right now—and I swear Hallie, you better quit flapping your lips about Stephanie. Because even though I would never hit you—I know for a fact she has a mean right hook. And I know she isn't going to let you anyone trash her like that."

"Honey boo—you are just stressed, it's fine."

I pointed one of my hands to the door. "Get out Hallie, before I arrest you for trespassing." Her mouth hung open for a beat before she snapped it shut and narrowed her eyes at me.

"You'll regret this Joseph Morelli!" She stomped out the door.

"Not likely!" I yelled before slamming the door shut behind her.

"Why the hell didn't I do that sooner?" I said to Bob who finally made an appearance from gnawing at something in the kitchen. He tipped his big goofy head to the side—and I was sure he was saying: No idea!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: JE's Characters—My version.**

**A/N: It's a relatively short chapter—sorry about that. But I do hope you enjoy it either way! Thank you again for all your amazing responses! Your words make me want to write more for you! So this chapter is for all of you that have taken the time to read what I write! Thank you! **

Chapter Twelve

Friday afternoon I finished my shift for the week at the button factory; I waved to the others as I went to clock out. It had been a few days since my conversation with Tony and I have been walking around in serious zombie mode. I was wrapped up in a state of being numb inside and out. My co-workers all knew something was going on, but didn't bother asking. The remainder of the week at work I had been working completely on auto pilot. Wake up, shower, get dressed, grab a donut, go to work, clock in, work, clock out, go home, eat dinner, go to bed. My phone ran out of juice but I made no attempts to try and plug it back in—the silence was peaceful. I was sure my mother was probably losing her mind by now, but I just didn't feel in the mood to talk with anyone.

And inside I knew _exactly_ why that was. I didn't want to hear any news about the engagement of Joe and Hallie, or their wedding plans. While I had admitted to myself that I was in love with Joe—that didn't mean anything had changed. And admitting to myself that I loved Joe hadn't given me the overwhelming feeling of bliss I expected—in all honesty I felt worse. Now everything was out and I couldn't take it back to myself what it was I was feeling. Instead I was left with this empty; rotten feeling in the pit of my stomach that I believed over time would fill up on its own. It would take time, and I expected that. Anything dealing with the way I felt for Joseph Morelli took time to recover from; and who knows maybe when the wedding rolls around I'll be happy for him. I'll be able to hug him and say congratulations—and truly mean it.

Who am I kidding—I'll never be able to mean something like that. I will always want Joe to be happy; no matter whom it was that stood by his side in happiness. And I would still put on the biggest smile that I could conjure up and wish him all the best; I would wait until I was curled up in my bed that I would cry my heart out.

I pulled into my parking lot and thought maybe I'd go out tonight. Hit up the bar; light up the town. _Yeah right—you're going to do the same thing you've done every night this week. You're going to go up to your apartment and wallow, have a few beers then go back to sleep. _Boy do I know how to party it up or what! I locked up my car and shuffled my feet into the elevator—deciding once again I didn't have the energy to take the steps up to my 2nd floor apartment. The doors opened and I stepped out, fumbling with my keys. When I looked up I dropped the keys and felt a rush of shock run through my body as I saw Joe Morelli leaning against my apartment door.

Now don't get me wrong; Joe Morelli is the walking image of perfection. He was 6 feet of hard lean muscle, amazing brown eyes and a face that had become more attractive with age. But right now with red rimmed eyes with bags hanging under them that looked like he was going on a trip around the world; and a 5 o'clock shadow that looked to be around for at least 48 hours. This gorgeous man standing in front of me looked absolutely miserable; and out of instinct I wanted to run to him and make it better. But I kept my zombie-like composure and continued forward towards him.

"Is everything okay?" I asked him, trying to force down the rising lump in my throat.

Joe ran a hand through his unruly hair and looked down towards the ground. "Can we talk inside?" He nodded his head towards my door. I didn't have to think twice—seeing him in such bad shape immediately sent me into best friend rescue mode.

"Of course." I moved past him and unlocked my door; we got about 5 steps inside when Joe put his hands on my shoulders to stop me.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" His voice was thick, husky and hid the real pain he felt with minimal success.

"I haven't." I searched his eyes for the answer of what was truly getting to him, but all I saw was pain.

Joe released my shoulders and ran his hand back through his hair. "Every time I call your phone goes straight to voicemail. You haven't responded to any of my texts or my voicemails—how is that _not_ you avoiding me?"

_Shit—_I was so stuck in my own little world the last couple days I didn't even think that Joe might have been trying to get a hold of me. My first thoughts were that my mother would call and _maybe_ Austin—possibly Tony too but all were ones I would return later.

"My phone ran out of juice and I just didn't bother to plug it in."

His expression changed from shock—to relief. "It's not smart to let your phone die; what if something terrible happened and no one could get a hold of you?"

"Did it!" My thoughts flashed to my family—had something happened to them and I was too selfish to even turn on my damn phone.

"No, everything's fine." Joe quickly said, reading my thoughts.

"Then what's going on—you look like you haven't slept in days."

"I really haven't, Steph." I continued to scrutinize his every move; and he blew out a heavy sigh. "I have been a Goddamn wreck, I feel we've time warped back 10 years."

"Why do you feel like that?"

"Because once again I feel like you're slipping away from me." My mouth instantly felt dry and my heart began pounding at a rate twice the normal rate.

"What…I…" There were no words that could get out what I wanted to say—because even in my mind, nothing was coming out.

"Once again we share a moment of this incredible passion and then we go a few days without talking. Except last time things got out of control and I lost you. I left you slip out of my fingers and my _foolish_ ego got in the way of what I wanted."

The numbness I had felt over the last few days was quickly being replaced with the same heart wrenching feeling that took over last time we talked. "You said you didn't remember what happened to us." I managed to whisper out.

"I know—but that's because the memory of our fight has been haunting my mind every single day since I left."

I bit down on my lip and found a spot on the wall to stare at—anything to avoid looking into those brown eyes. But Joe wasn't going to let that slide. His hands gently cupped my face and returned it so I was once again locked in the power of his eyes.

"You know what my biggest mistake was, Stephanie?" I felt my body shiver at the memory. The very words that sent the dagger into my heart. That his biggest mistake was _wasting a decade with me_; I can't bear to hear those words again. Even though they played over and again in my mind; I knew hearing them slip from his lips would be something I would never bounce back from.

"Stephanie, my biggest mistake was walking away from you that day. It was waiting so damn long to tell you that I am so in love with you; that _no one else_ could _ever _take your place. My mistake was letting you for one moment think that you weren't the _best_ part of growing up. That it was going to be that easy to just forget you. And every day since I walked out that door I have screwed up by not running to you and admitting everything to you."

The tears were streaming heavily down my cheeks that Joe was now a blur in my vision. "But Hallie…" Was all I managed to get out; and Joe's head was instantly shaking back and forth.

"I broke things off with her; she's not the one for me, Stephanie. There is no one else in this world that will ever replace you in my heart. My heart has been with you for as long as I can remember and I pray to _God_ it isn't too late to make you mine." A wave of chills ran through my body at his words.

He wanted me to be his—_my _Joe Morelli saw me as _his_ Stephanie Plum. There was a mix of love, excitement and absolute fear at this realization. This was it—there wasn't going to be anyway to go back from here. Two doors stood in front of me. One opened to the life I would have without Joe—my fear that something could go wrong between us was so strong. What if the love that we both have _clearly_ felt over the last 20 years turned out to be better in theory than in reality? We could never just be friends again; and a part of me wanted to keep Joe in my life as just a friend to avoid any further heartbreak. While the other door pointed me towards the future I longed for; with the man I dreamed about it with. Could I do it—could I just simply let go of my cautious heart and give it away again? Would he protect it the way I always thought he would; or would it be tossed aside and shattered into a million pieces once more?

Joe used his thumbs to wipe away my heavily tear soaked cheeks, also giving me a clearer view of him. I wasn't the only one with tears running down my cheeks—and seeing the grief and devastation in plain sight told me he knew this was it. This was the defining moment of the rest of our lives together. This was either the beginning of forever—or the end of the road.

In an instant Joe had sunk down to his knees and wrapped his arms around my waist, his face buried in my stomach. "I can't lose you Stephanie—I could never imagine a life without you. And even though I haven't had you next to me for so long—you've always been there. And I want you _there forever_. I love you and I'm not making the same mistake I once did. I'm not running away this time—and I will only leave if that is what you _truly_ want from me."

My hand subconsciously reached out to touch his hair; to take away his pain once and for all. And in that moment I knew—there was no second door. The only door I had in front of me was with the one with Joseph Morelli waiting on the other side. Everything else would be a lie. I have been trying to protect my heart; but ended up only causing us both pain. His heart has been mine since we were kids—and without a shadow of a doubt; mine has been his.

I grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him back so I could look down into his eyes. And when our eyes locked—I knew there was no one else I wanted but the man kneeling in front of me. My face spread into a smile through the tears.

"I love you, Joe Morelli—and I can't imagine a future without you. My heart has always been yours. But you have to promise me that you're never going to let it go again." Joe was on his feet in a second with his hands back on either side of my face.

"I will _never _let _you_ go again. You're mine, Cupcake." And with that he pressed his lips to mine.

The heart ache vanished; the tears of sorrow became tears of joy. After years of waiting; in a single spectacular moment we were one, once more. Our mouths broke away long enough for me to see the stunning smile that has always been reserved for me; before he swept me off my feet and replaced his lips against mine.

We were headed toward my bed and I had no need to stop him. I needed him now more than ever. He set me down on the edge of my bed and stepped back enough to take in this moment. Joe smiled and wrapped his fingers into the bottom of my shirt and slowly pulled it over my head. I did the same, and stood face-to-face once his shirt was off.

"You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, Stephanie." I smiled; at a total loss for words at what to say. I have never been so ridiculously happy that I couldn't form a sentence, but then again—anything was possible with Joe around. And as we slowly explored each other's bodies with our fingers and mouths—we finally became one and every inch of me was screaming out with the undying passion and love I felt for this man…._My man_, _my Morelli._


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** **JE's Characters—My Version**

**Author's Note:** Thank you all for your continued support and patience! I love you allllll! =] I hope you all are doing well!

Chapter Thirteen:

On Sunday morning I opened my eyes and a smile spread over my face once again as I stared at my best friend. Since making our relationship official we spent the entire weekend in my house—we shut off our phones and just enjoyed the moment. It was a miracle I had any energy left in my body. Joe made it very clear that we needed to make up for lost time and every _minute_ of it was incredible. It was hard to believe we spent 10 years apart—I had _definitely_ been missing out… but not anymore. My smile grew; since Friday night it had been permanently fixed on my face. And every time I thought of the reality that Joe Morelli was _mine_ and I was _his_, my heart just about leapt out of my chest with joy.

I watched as Joe's bare and perfectly toned chest rose up and down slowly. There was absolute peace and calm on his features; the slightly curled ends of his hair fell across his forehead. My fingers reached up and gently pushed the hair away; the simple contact made Joe's eyes open slightly. He smiled at me, trying to fight the exhaustion that I _should_ be feeling.

"Whatcha doing, Cupcake?"

"Just looking." I said in a voice that was more of a sigh than anything.

"Oh yeah, do you like what you see?"

Joe's eyes remained closed but a slow and sexy grin spread over his lips. I leaned my lips down to his and brushed against them while I answered.

"I _love_ what I see." Joe wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me down to lie on his chest. He placed a kiss on the top of my head and let out a large sigh.

"God, I love you Stephanie." My lips pressed against the skin of his chest closest to me.

"And I love you." I lifted my head from his chest and pressed our lips together. If I put a little more effort into the kiss I could easily wake him from the half sleep he was still in. But right now I really wanted a shower then maybe I'd make some coffee and poptarts and treat Joe to some breakfast in bed.

"Go back to sleep, baby." I whispered to him as I untangled my body from his grasp. Before leaving the room I took one more glance back at the man sprawled out on my bed. His amazing hard body looked soft with the rays of sunlight reflecting against his skin. And I couldn't help but remember how perfectly the two of us fit together. Why had I wasted so much of my life without him next to me? It seemed pointless to fight the inevitable and I never again wanted to.

I brought my portable radio into the bathroom and flipped it to a random station. I stripped out of my clothes and stepped into the steaming hot water; it felt wonderful against my sensitive skin. Then again, I couldn't imagine anything that wouldn't feel amazing—not with a man like Joe Morelli near me. During my shampoo lather the song "Then He Kissed Me" by The Crystals started playing. Not only did I love the song but I was feeling like quite the giddy school girl this morning.

I shut my eyes to rinse the suds out and sang along, my body moving to the beat. The feeling of a pair of warm hands on my stomach made me scream. I opened my eyes and saw Joe with an amused smile on his face. Joe wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me close and like the Crystals said…. And then he kissed me.

"I was feeling a little dirty so I decided to come get cleaned up." Joe said with a smirk against my lips.

"Oh yeah? Are you going to be able to keep it clean in the shower, mister?" He released me a little bit and stepped back scanning my naked body.

The smirk became a full-fledged smile as he shook his head. "Not a chance." He pulled me back into him and I giggled like a school girl as we began another round of mind-blowing, toe curling, passion.

There wasn't a surface in my apartment that was free from our love-making after the past couple days. I did find it funny that with Austin I was content with sex in the bedroom and didn't really care to try anything new. With Joe I _wanted_ to explore everything with him. Not to mention, one minute we'd be in the kitchen talking about what we wanted for dinner; the next minute I'd be sitting on the counter, my legs wrapped around his hips as he buried himself deliciously inside me.

We could barely get through a conversation without our hands and lips on each other. Not that I was complaining, because that man was truly _unbelievable!_

We sat on the couch watching sports highlights from the week, both freshly showered and sexually satisfied…for now. My legs rested across Joe's, as I rested against the pillow on the opposite end of the couch.

"I should probably get home and change my clothes." Joe said; turning his direction from the TV to where I was. I tried to keep my frown to myself. How ridiculous was I that I didn't even want him to leave for a change of clothes?!

"Okay, do you think you'll come back over tonight or just stay home to recover in time for work tomorrow?" Joe raised an eyebrow as he looked at me; like I just asked something in another language.

"You're coming with me, Cupcake."

"I am?"

Joe nodded, and grabbed my arm to pull me to a sitting position. "Yeah Steph, I just got you back. You don't really think I'm going to let you go anytime soon do you?"

I smiled and threw my arms around his neck. "Just because you go home doesn't mean you're letting me go. It's normal for couples to do _some_ things on their own."

"Yes well, I don't want that. I want you, and I want you with me." I kissed his lips and pulled back to rest my forehead against his.

"Then I'll come with." Joe smiled. "But you do realize you'll eventually have to let me go…to work, and you'll be at work too."

Joe rolled his eyes at me. "Cupcake, I'm going to handcuff you to me so you are stuck with me…even at work."

"I don't think that would work out very well." I said with a smile.

"Maybe, but I'm still going to think about the handcuff thing."

"Well, what do you say we head over to your place then; there is a perfectly good bed that we haven't taken for a test drive yet."

"I like the way you think, Cupcake." Our lips met and moved together in such a natural way that one would think we've been doing this for years…not days. What was supposed to be an innocent kiss, quickly turned to us missing critical items of clothing as we made love once more before heading back out into the real world.

On the way to Joe's house I had a panic attack about Bob being left alone all weekend. Joe reassured me that his buddy from the police station was watching Bob for the weekend. I guess he planned on groveling at my feet until I gave in to his plea to be together. Instead we were able to spend that time tangled up in the sheets; much better use of our time if I do say so myself!

Joe plugged his dead phone into the wall charger in his kitchen as I searched aimlessly through his fridge. Once his phone was powered on there was an immediate vibration as all his missed messages were delivered. He paid the phone no attention and pulled me from the fridge into his arms.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you—we're going to dinner at my mother's tonight."

"JOE!" I jumped back and shook my head. "No way!"

"Why not?" He asked; with a pained expression like I was kicking a puppy.

"Well for starters, you _just_ called off your engagement. That is going to look terrible if I just show up suddenly as your girlfriend."

"There's nothing _sudden_ about this, Steph. They've all known I've been in love with you for years." A smile threatened to break my stern attitude.

"That doesn't mean it is okay to show up one week with your fiancée and the next week with someone totally different."

"Please Steph, I need you there with me." Joe rested his forehead against mine; his brown eyes intensely pleading into mine. When he saw that I was on the edge of agreeing to go he moved his lips down to the nape of my neck. I giggled and tried to push him away without success as his lips and facial scruff moved around the length of my neck.

"Okay fine, I'll go."

Joe reached down and grabbed my thighs and lifted me off the ground; my legs wrapped around his waist as he started walking.

"How can you possibly be ready for another round?" I laughed as he continued kissing my neck and walked us up towards his bedroom.

"I can't help it; I'm addicted to you, Cupcake." His mouth found mine and I gave in to the inevitable because truth was…I was addicted to this man too. I was just glad to know it wasn't just my body that craved his touch; no one made me feel as desired as Joe Morelli managed to. We both laughed as he threw me down onto his bed.

"Shouldn't you give me the grand tour or something?"

Joe's eyes darkened to a delicious shade of liquid chocolate as he slowly unzipped the front of my pants.

"Oh trust me Cupcake; you'll get the grand tour all right."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo O**

My leg was obnoxiously bouncing up and down in Joe's truck while we turned onto the street where his mother lived. Joe moved his hand to rest on my knee to calm me down.

"You don't have to be worried, Cupcake. Everything is going to go great—I promise." I offered him a smile but the truth was my spidey senses were tingling like crazy. I had changed my outfit about a dozen times in preparation for this dinner. Since the weather was colder today with the chill of late fall in the air I passed up on all my sundress choices. Instead I settled on a pair of my dark form fitting jeans, black camisole, and white ¾ length white blazer. I paired that with a pair of my black leather boots zipped up on the outside of my jeans. Joe had gave me a very approving response; and I had to remind him we were going to be late if we played around…again. Not that I wasn't tempted to be late by Joe's choice of Levi's that hugged his amazing ass perfectly, dark shirt with his blue button up and leather jacket. But then again, this man looked great in anything.

We pulled up and I let out a deep sigh as I stared at the house I spent much of my childhood in. Joe reached over and grabbed my hand, brought it to his lips and placed a kiss on my knuckles.

"You ready for this, Cupcake?"

"If I say no will you take me home?" The corner of Joe's mouth twitched up as he shook his head.

"Not a chance."

I rolled my eyes and let out a little whimper. "Then let's go and get this over with."

We stepped out and before I could make it half a dozen steps Joe was at my side, lacing our fingers together. The feel of his fingers linked with mine was a truly calming sensation. I loved every bit of the way his large hands encompassed mine and made me feel safe.

Joe opened the front door without releasing my hand from his and pulled me in after him.

"Joseph, is that you?" Angela Morelli's voice called from the direction of the kitchen.

"Yeah ma, it's me and I brought a special guest."

"Okay, well why don't you just go and wait in the living room with the others. Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes."

Joe placed a kiss on my cheek and we walked into the living room. All of Joe's siblings were sitting around the living room with a beer or other alcoholic drink in their hands. They were all laughing and talking but when we entered the room everyone stopped.

"Stephanie!" Joe's two sisters yelled in unison with a smile.

"Hey Gabriella! Hey Renee!" Both of the girls received the Morelli gene when it came to looks. They both had big honey colored eyes; olive toned skin, and long silky dark hair.

"What are you doing here!" Renee asked jumping out of her seat, but paused. All in the same moment 5 pairs of dark eyes zoned in on Joe's hand laced with mine. Tony was the first to act, by jumping out of his seat and stomping over to Joe's side.

"Why the fuck has your phone been off all weekend?" Tony seethed at Joe. Neither of us expected this response from Tony, him of all the family was the one we expected to accept us without question.

"I was busy." Joe answered defensively, stepping over so he was shielding me from his brother. I don't think Joe expected a threat from his older brother against me; but the fighter side of Joe was also very protective when it came to things he cared about. And even before when we were just friends I have always been someone that Joe protected no matter what.

"We need to talk." Tony spit out each word with a serious emphasis.

"What the fuck about?"

Before Tony could answer someone else entered the room and we all looked over to see who it was.

"Oh there you are my Snuggy Wuggums." Hallie stood smiling in a long-sleeved sweater dress, holding a bowl of mashed potatoes that she set down on the table behind her.

I quickly pulled my hand from Joe's; what was _she_ doing here! This didn't make sense, why was she here… unless. What if Joe really _didn't_ break things off with her, and here I stood. The fool that fell for the whole thing. The entire _amazing_ weekend we had together was a lie. Joe turned to face me and then shot his head back to look at Hallie. He reached his hand out and tried to grab mine again. I yanked away from him like his hand was on fire.

"What are you doing here, Hallie?" Joe's tone was furious; he reached out and grabbed hold of my arm so I couldn't back away from him. I wanted nothing more than to run out of the house. No way was I afraid of this woman, but I wasn't going to come in here swinging at her. Especially if I in fact was _the other woman_. I could feel my stomach lurch into my throat; I was going to be sick, or break down into tears. _What the hell was I doing here!_

"Sunday night dinner, silly. Where else would I be?" She didn't seem at all affected by my presence and her all too calm demeanor made me _certain_ that I was the one out of place here, not her. "I see you brought a friend! Hello Stephanie, it's wonderful to see you again. We'll set out another setting for you."

Hallie walked off into the kitchen to rejoin Joe's mother and Joe instantly turned to face me. I couldn't even look him in the eye right now. I was furious, and embarrassed and so _goddamn_ pathetic. How could I have been so stupid to believe that after _10 years_ he would drop everything for me!?

"Stephanie, I swear to God I ended things with her." I bit down on my bottom lip and pulled my arm from his grasp. He tried to wrap his arms around my shoulders but I pushed away from him again.

"Fuck!" Joe put one hand on his waist and ran the other through his hair. "Don't let her leave." Joe said to Tony before stalking off into the kitchen.

Tony wrapped his arms around my shoulder and pulled me into his side for support.

"Steph, he called me after he broke things off with her. I promise they're done; Hallie's just taking a one-way ride on the crazy train right now."

"I'm a fool, Tony."

Angela Morelli quickly ran out of the kitchen and mumbled something about going to the bathroom before running up the stairs. Before Tony could answer, Joe's booming voice reached the living room.

"Hallie we broke up! You have no right to come here anymore!"

"Joseph Morelli, we did _not_ break up!"

"Yes we did! The last time I saw you I told you I was done! I told you I was in love with Stephanie." Hallie laughed out loud, and I quickly recognized it as an evil laugh.

"Baby, the last time I saw you we made love like highschoolers in love. I told you I was worried about Stephanie because I saw the way she looked at you. You told me you were _not_ in love with her, and that she was just still hung up on you."

"YOU'RE LYING! I LOVE HER, HALLIE! HER—NOT YOU!"

"You're just trying to cover your ass right now bubbie love, I get it. I'm sure it's embarrassing for her to show up and be so out of place. But when you told me you were going to bring her to dinner we decided together that we'd let her down easily."

A few angry tears slid down my cheeks. How completely stupid was I! I was nothing to him; she knew all about me and maybe this was the _real_ reason he wanted me to come over tonight. I pushed out of Tony's arms and saw Trey get off the couch and come over to stand by me. His arms reached out and pulled me into him, I buried my face in my hands to hold back the overwhelming feeling of pain quickly surfacing.

"I would never hurt you like this, Steph." Trey whispered into my ear. Heavy footsteps approached the room and stopped suddenly.

"Get your **_goddamn_** hands off of my woman, Trey!" Joe yelled at his brother.

Trey scoffed and I looked up to see them stare each other down. "Which one bro: your fiancée or your girlfriend?"

Gino and Tony quickly jumped between the two of them and I made my way towards the front door.

"Stephanie, don't!" Joe yelled after me as I walked outside. He was out the door a few seconds after I was and his brothers stood in the doorway.

"Stephanie please, don't listen to her! She's lying! I never said any of those things to her!" I turned around, a few tears rolled traitorously down my cheeks.

"Listen, we're rushing things. You clearly have things that need to be resolved. I shouldn't have jumped into anything; neither of us are ready for this."

"But…" I held up a hand and shook my head.

"Just don't okay." I finally looked into Joe's eyes and saw the fear and pain of this moment reflecting in his expression. The sight made my heart twist into knots, hours before we had been happy. But does that really count if I was nothing more than just the distraction from reality. Tony left the doorway and patted Joe on the shoulder once before walking to my side.

"Come on, Plum. I'll give you a ride home."

I nodded and sniffled back tears; not risking a glance back at the scene of chaos I was walking away from.

**A/N: Next update will be Chapter 14 of There Forever.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** **JE's characters…My Version**

Chapter Fourteen

Tony pulled the car away from the circus scene behind us. A few tears rolled down my cheeks and I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand. I hated this feeling. I didn't want to believe that Joe had lied to me, especially after everything we shared together this past weekend. But it was also for that reason that I was allowing myself to believe the words of this certifiably insane woman. Giving your heart away is no easy feat; but giving it away to the only one that has ever mattered…was so much harder. It was frustrating because trusting Joe with my heart should be second nature; he would never hurt me! I should know better, but it didn't change the fear bubbling up inside of me.

The worst part about finally having everything you ever wanted…was knowing that in one fell swoop I could be left with nothing. That was a feeling I couldn't handle.

Tony put his hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked over to him with my vision blurring from the tears I refused to let fall.

"Thank you for driving me home."

Tony smiled and ruffled my hair. "You know I'm always going to be there for you, Plum." I smiled at his words and returned my gaze out my window.

"I want you to know that everything Hallie said tonight was to get under your skin. Joe legitimately broke things off with her and everyday after that he called me up. Always asking if he should call you, go see you, anything. I told him to wait and give you space. Well I called him on Saturday because I ran into Hallie at Tasty Pastry; she was confirming the cake order and squaring away details about the wedding. I pulled her aside and told her it was over—that it was time for her to move on. It was obvious that she was stunned Joe had said anything to people. I told her that Joe was in love with you and she didn't stand a chance. Well then today she showed up at my ma's place a few hours before dinner to start cooking. She seriously looked like she lost it. I called Joe about a dozen times to warn him but his phone kept going straight to voicemail."

A wave of relief washed over me. I could handle this crazy woman; as long as I knew that I was _Joe's_ woman.

"So Plum, do you know why my brother's phone seemed to be broken all weekend?" I looked up to him and saw a smirk on his face. My face turned a fierce shade of red and I couldn't hide my smile as I looked away. Tony let out a chuckle.

"Atta girl—you get your man. Don't let this crazy bitch stand in the way of what you and my bro have together. What you two have is real, never doubt that."

"Thank you Tony, for everything." Tony smiled and waved his hand dismissing my words.

"You can repay me by naming your first born son after me. I sure do like the name Tony Morelli." A loud and heartfelt laugh escaped my chest and I leaned into Tony's shoulder.

_Stephanie Morelli….Stephanie Michelle Morelli_. My thoughts couldn't help but drift into the prospect of a future with Joe. There was nothing I wanted more; but I still wasn't ready to be Mrs. Anyone right now. I loved Joe with all my heart….but one step at a time!

Tony pulled his truck into a parking space in my lot. We both left the car and he threw his arm over my shoulder as we started to walk towards my complex door. The sound of screeching tires made us stop and turn towards the parking lot entrance. Joe's Explorer came into view and he pulled up a few feet away from us. He jumped out of the car and immediately ran to me, pulling me tight against his chest.

"Stephanie, I am so sorry! I swear to God, Steph, I had no idea she was going to be there! I would never _ever_ hurt you." Joe was squeezing my waist so tightly to him, it was hard to even let out a sigh. I didn't mind though, because right here I got a chance to see just how much I meant to Joe.

"Christ bro, chill out." Tony said rolling his eyes at this.

"Joe stop, it's okay. I trust you." Joe looked up into my eyes with a glimmer of hope.

"Do you mean it?"

I placed a soft kiss against his lips and stared into his eyes. "I'm sorry I ran. I just needed to get out of there."

"But you promise we're not going to take a break right? I promise to personally tell every goddamn person that I'm not getting married to her. I swear I had no idea she was going to do that."

"I know you didn't. And yes, I promise you we're not taking a break."

"Why don't you do us all a favor though and not shut off your damn phone again." Tony said; making Joe and I both smile.

"No promises." Joe said with a smirk on his face as he stared into my eyes. "Come home with me, Steph."

"I'm gonna see you two love birds later." Tony called walking away from us. "Oh and I expect you both at poker night tomorrow night!"

"See ya then!" I yelled back with a wave since Joe was so focused on me I didn't know if he heard his brother or not. Joe wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me close. His lips gently skimmed around the surface of my face. I let my head fall back against his arms so I could look up into his dark chocolate eyes.

"Come home with me, Cupcake." Joe repeated, placing a kiss on my lips. Even though the kiss was innocent enough there was a strong promise for more. And there was no point pretending that I wasn't completely affected by his touch.

"Well I need to get a change of clothes and some other essentials." Joe kissed me again and I smiled when he nuzzled my neck.

"Grab enough for a few nights."

"Sure you won't get sick of me?"

"Not possible."

"You're going to have to release me so I can get my stuff." I said through a smirk.

Joe sighed but let his arms fall from my shoulders to his side. "I'll come up with you, Cupcake." I put my hand on his chest to stop him.

"No way, Joe. If you come up with me, we're never getting out of there."

An extremely mischievous grin stretched across his face. "And that's a bad thing?"

"Well… not exactly—but I'm hungry, for _food!_" Joe sighed again and placed one more kiss on my lips.

"Hurry up then; I'll wait in the truck."

I grabbed my make-up bag and shoved my toothbrush, perfume and deodorant in the bag. Then I went to my closet and stuffed enough clean work outfits for the next two days. While a part of me was ready to just shove all my clothes into a suitcase so I never had to leave Joe, I refrained. It didn't feel like it, but reality was we _are_ still in the beginning stages of our relationship. No point throwing more into the relationship pot than either of us were ready to deal with just yet.

Joe was sitting in the truck waiting for me, but got out when he saw me. He grabbed my bags from me and put them in the trunk while I took the seat next to him. We stopped at Pino's for some meatball subs and washed them down with a beer when we got back to Joe's place. The rest of the night we alternated between making passionate love to watching TV to just talking.

By 11 that night we were in bed and we had just silenced the hunger for each other. The moon shone in through the cracks in his bedroom window and cast rays of light across the bed. My head rested on Joe's chest, my fingers running softly up and down his stomach. While he played with my hair with one hand and laced with my free one. The way his chest moved up and down told me Joe was in a complete state of peace. This was something I remembered from our many years together as kids. When I would be trying to fall asleep next to him there was always a few moments before he fell asleep where he let everything bad go… If only for a few moments.

It was that calm that made me feel at peace too. So we started the habit of whenever we had gone through something awful; whether it be school related, relationship, or family issues. We would just lie together and let our minds forget about all the pain. Together we existed in this solitary moment of peace and this was a feeling I hadn't felt in over 10 years.

"When did you first realize you loved me, Steph?" Joe's words took me by surprise. I wanted to respond with some witty comeback, but now wasn't the time.

"Well I first realized the depth of my feelings for you after we slept together for the first time. You were asleep and it hit me how much I loved you. When I realized that though, I knew I had loved you all my life."

Joe placed a soft kiss on the top of my head as he continued running his fingers through my curly hair.

"When did you realize you loved me?"

He let out a single laugh. "When you gave me that, Cupcake. But I didn't admit it to myself until after our awful fight. We declared our friendship over and I was a fucking wreck without you by my side. I always knew you were there for me, but it wasn't until you weren't there that I figured it out."

"So why didn't you say anything to me?"

"C'mon Steph, you know I was a stubborn ass punk back then. My ego kept me from finding you and begging you to take me back." I rolled over slightly so I could turn my face to look up at him.

"You don't have that problem now." Joe smiled and brushed some stray hairs out of my face.

"That's because I'm not the foolish kid I once was. Because now I know what I risk losing, and I never want to lose you Steph. Never again."

I leaned up closer to Joe and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"I'm not going anywhere, baby."

My eyes shut while I took in the sounds of his breathing and the smell of his skin. We lay like that for a few more minutes before a question I was burning to ask came out.

"Between me and Hallie were there any other women you were serious about?"

"Nah." Joe said casually. "I mean there were a couple relationships here and there, nothing longer than a month though. Otherwise I pretty much just slept with them and moved on. After what we went through I was in no position to open up like that again. Even with Hallie I wasn't ready; she more insisted on a relationship so I gave in." I smiled, happy to know there were no other women that Joe had been madly in love with.

"What about you, Steph? Anyone besides Austin?" I shrugged and placed a kiss against his smooth chest before continuing.

"I didn't date too much in college; here and there. But there was one other serious boyfriend I had, he received an amazing job offer in California though."

"So what happened with you guys?" Joe's body tensed slightly with the question.

"Neither of us wanted to do the long distance thing, so we broke up before he left. We said we'd keep in contact, but we both had our own lives—so we just lost touch."

"What was his name?"

"Ryan Johnson."

Joe scoffed. "Sounds like one of those frat boy pricks."

I couldn't help but laugh. "He was in a frat in college actually. But he wasn't a prick; Ryan was a great guy."

"Better than me?"

Rolling my eyes, I pulled myself from his chest and moved to straddle his hips. "When are you going to believe that there is no one that is better than you, for me?"

Joe sat up and framed my face with his hands. "I do, Cupcake. Can't blame a guy for getting just a little possessive. Hell, I don't know how any of your exes ever let you go."

My hands moved to his back; I loved the way his muscles tensed under my hands. "Actually it was more me than them. None of them had what I was looking for…well, none of them were _who_ I was looking for."

"I'm assuming it was me?"

"Yes baby, it has always been you." With that Joe flipped me over onto my back and we began the next round of making love.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The next morning we both eventually got to work…. And we were only a _little_ late. But hey—they should be glad we showed up at all. Throughout the day I received numerous texts from Morelli; some were sweet and some were extremely sexy. Making me wish we would have just stayed home. I made sure to send something back in return to make him just as uncomfortable working with others as I was feeling.

That night we showed up at poker night and eventually got kicked out by the guys. We couldn't keep our hands off each other and we spent more time flirting with each other than playing the game. Which was fine because we were able to go back to Joe's place and curl up together. I was amazed at how easy things were for us. We immediately got back into the stride we were in before as friends; of course with much more passion and love now.

Every second of the day Joe was on my mind. How much I loved him, and trying to tell myself I really _wasn't_ dreaming. That the man I have loved since I was 3 years old is in love with me too. I could see it in Joe's eyes too; he felt the same way.

Tuesday morning I had Joe drop me off at my apartment so I could take my car to work. There was tons of protesting from his side, but I convinced him I needed to _eventually_ go home and change clothes. And since I had some time before my shift at the button factory started I decided to stop in at Tasty Pastry for some coffee and a donut.

I practically floated into the bakery on my own personal cloud and ordered my Boston Crème. A familiar voice brought me back to the real world, and reminded me I needed to be more aware of my surroundings.

"Look who it is—the home wrecker." I looked to see Hallie as she walked up to the counter; stirring what looked to be some sort of iced tea drink.

"I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong person. If you really think that Joe only left you for me—you're mistaken. He is too damn smart to fall for the trickery of your crazy ass."

The woman behind the counter stared at us with her mouth hung open, holding out my bakery bag and coffee. Hallie let out a borderline psychotic laugh.

"Honey, I meant what I said before; I will be Mrs. Joseph Morelli and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

I wasn't going to let her tear apart my good mood. So with a smile on my face I approached her.

"Sweets—you lost. Joseph Morelli is _my_ man, and he always has been. So why don't you stay the hell away from us, because baby—he hasn't thought about you once since I came back into his life." Hallie narrowed her eyes at me but didn't retort.

So I shot her a smile and turned to head out the door. Before I reached it though I felt something thunk against my head. I turned around and saw the muffin that hit my head on the floor next to me.

"You are _seriously_ going to throw a **muffin** at my head? That's the best you got?" I stomped my way back over to where she stood, a stern face painted over her fear.

"How about this!" I smacked her tea from the bottom making it spill all down her outfit. She screamed and jumped back at the touch of the ice cold drink.

"You fat cow!" Hallie yelled grabbing a powdered donut out of the woman's hand next to her and tossing it at me. It smacked my chest—and it was on.

The next thing I knew I had someone's arms around me pulling me off her. Hallie's hair was a mess, there were runs in her tights and she looked like someone went crazy on her. I suppose that was me. But hey—she started it!

"Stay away from him!" I yelled as a guy was pulling her out the door of the bakery. The person holding me back released me and I heard a man's laughter behind me.

"Glad to see you haven't changed much, Steph." I turned around my mouth dropped open in shock as I recognized the voice.

A man standing at 6 foot 2 with sandy blonde hair, big green eyes and a dazzling smile stared at me.

"Ryan?"

**A/N: The next update will be Decisions Decisions. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: JE's characters—My version**

**Author's Note:** Oh my gosh! I can **_not_** believe it has been so long that I have updated! It was like one thing led to another and my week break turned into… much much longer! PLEASE PLEASE forgive me! I have missed you all! And my goal is to update one chapter of each story and then begin the pattern again. Know that I have missed you sooooo much! And I hope you enjoy everything I have to offer! =D

Also! In the last chapter I mention **Ryan Johnson**—Steph's ex that shows up at the end of Chapter 14. I'm letting all of you know now that I have to change his name to **Cooper Johnson**. The reasons are confusing so I won't bore you with them lol—but I wanted to let you know now to prevent confusion. Anyways—enjoy =D

Chapter Fifteen

_The next thing I knew I had someone's arms around me pulling me off her. Hallie's hair was a mess, there were runs in her tights and she looked like someone went crazy on her. I suppose that was me. But hey—she started it!_

_"Stay away from him!" I yelled as a guy was pulling her out the door of the bakery. The person holding me back released me and I heard a man's laughter behind me._

_"Glad to see you haven't changed much, Steph." I turned around my mouth dropped open in shock as I recognized the voice._

_A man standing at 6 foot 2 with sandy blonde hair, big green eyes and a dazzling smile stared at me._

_"Cooper?"_

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo O**

I couldn't believe my eyes. I haven't seen Cooper in years and now here he was—standing face-to-face with me in the Tasty Pastry of all places. Not to mention I was covered with powdered sugar and had moments before been in the middle of a catfight.

"I must say Steph, you look absolutely fantastic." I looked down at my halfway ruined outfit then up at him again.

"Thanks." Was all I could muster out. I was still in a state of shock at his appearance.

Cooper flashed another dazzling smile as he moved a stray curl behind my ear. "Surprised to see me?"

"To say the least." He let out a laugh and pulled me in for a hug. Even though he wore a nice tailor made suit that fit him to a T, he didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that I was messy. My arms found their way around his shoulders and the memory of the way things used to be hit me like a ton of bricks. I never expected to see Cooper again and I _never_ thought I'd be in his arms once more.

"I've really missed you, Steph." I didn't know what to say back. Of course I had missed Cooper, he was a great friend and we had a fantastic relationship. But Joe's face continued to pop into my mind and I just couldn't let another guy think they had any sort of chance into my heart.

"What are you doing back in town, Coop?" I asked, trying to casually untangle myself from his arms.

"Business, unfortunately. But listen, I have to run. However, while I'm in town I would absolutely love to catch up with you. Dinner tonight or tomorrow work for you?"

"Oh uh, well I'm sort of seeing someone." Cooper smiled and bent in to place his lips against my forehead.

"Steph, it's just dinner. And you are the best woman I have ever known. I didn't expect you to stay single for long. Do you still have the same cell phone number?" I nodded and he smiled once more.

"Then expect a call from me later today, beautiful." With that he was gone. And there I stood, frozen in the middle of the bakery. The women looked at me like I was a walking disaster waiting to happen, and I wondered the same thing.

I decided to pass up getting a replacement donut and went back to my apartment to clean up before heading in for my shift. The entire day I felt like a robot as I went about my tasks without really knowing what I was doing. My mind was still at the bakery replaying my fight with Hallie and my conversation with Cooper. Was this all really just a crazy coincidence? Or was I in for a world of trouble up ahead?

On my lunch break I got a call from Joe, and I thought about ignoring it. I didn't want to keep anything from him—ever. But I didn't know if I was ready to mention Cooper's sudden reappearance, especially while I was at work. Then I remembered the altercation with Hallie, and knew I needed to tell him.

"Guess who I ran into today at Tasty Pastry."

"Hello to you too, Cupcake. And who?"

"Your stupid ex-fiancée! She attacked me with a muffin!"

Joe laughed before continuing. "Well from the way I heard it, she may have got you with a muffin—but you got her with your claws."

"Who told you?"

"Couple cops ended up walking into the bakery right after you left. All the bakery workers replayed the story of 'Morelli's women,' as they call it."

"She started it!" I said to justify my fight and Joe let out another laugh.

"Sounds like you finished it though."

"I sure did."

"That's my girl. Oh and by the way, I think it is sexy as hell that you got into a fight over me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oooh yeah." I smiled and even though Joe though everything was sexy as hell—hearing it still sparked my blood pressure a little bit more. "You better not have any plans tonight, Cupcake. Because I already have plans for what I want to do to you."

That sounded great—but I knew if Cooper did call, I didn't want it to look like I was hiding it from Joe.

"I'm pretty sure I'm free, but I ran into someone else today that made an inquiry about my plans for this evening."

"Oh yeah, and who would that be?" The joking attitude was gone from Joe's voice.

I let out a sigh before answering. "Cooper."

There were a few beats of silence where I had to look at the phone and make sure we hadn't been disconnected. When I saw we hadn't I realized Joe was probably counting to 10 before speaking again.

"As in Cooper Johnson; the same Cooper I heard about just a couple nights ago?"

"That'd be the one."

"Why is he in town?" Joe's tone made me feel like I was now a suspect in a case he was working on.

"He said he was here for business."

"How long have you known he was in town?"

"Just today when I saw him."

"Where did you see him?"

"He was at the bakery and I saw him after I threw down with Hallie."

"What a coincidence." His tone was sarcastic and I knew he didn't believe me.

"It _was_."

"Oh, I'm sure."

"What's your problem, Morelli?"

"How long have you been keeping this from me, Steph? There is no way after years of no contact and him living in California that he is suddenly back in town and wants to see you."

"There is a way—because that's exactly the way it is!" So one of my worst traits about me, is how defensive I get. I could honestly see why Joe would be a little nervous about Cooper's reappearance. But I also wasn't very good with someone coming at me the way Joe was.

"Well fine, but if you hang out with him—I want to go with."

"What to chaperone me?"

"No Stephanie, but you can't expect me to just be happy that you're going to hang out with your ex-boyfriend?"

"I don't expect you to be happy about it—but I don't expect you to tell me not to go."

"What if I ask you not to?"

"I'm not asking for your permission Joe. And for all I know we won't even get together at all. I am just telling you so you don't feel like I'm keeping things from you."

"Yeah well, little late for that, Cupcake."

"I am not keeping _anything_ form you!"

"You not including me, is the same thing!"

My blood was boiling and I didn't want to keep fighting with him. There was no reason for this, and I just couldn't stop. I needed to get off the phone before I said something I regretted.

"Well whatever Joe, I need to get back to work."

"Fine, but this conversation isn't over!"

"Fine!"

I slammed my flip phone shut and threw it back into the pocket of my jeans before heading back to work.

The rest of the day I was left in a crappy mood. I hated fighting with Joe, because every time I did there was always a flash of the last big fight we had. Mad or not—I didn't want to lose Joe again. He must have felt the same way since when I checked my phone after work I had a voicemail message from him. At first I half expected him to yell at me for hanging up on him. Thankfully, I was wrong.

_"Cupcake, you know I trust you and I absolutely believe you if you say you only saw him today. I'm sorry for yelling at you, I just can't help but get defensive and a little possessive when it comes to you. I would hate to make a little mistake and have you walk away. And I promise that I will try to stop feeling like any second you will walk away. Anyways, I may have to work tonight but I hope not. I miss you like crazy, even if it has only been a few hours since I last saw you! I'll give you a call when I know what's going on. I love you, Cupcake."_

A smile spread over my face. I really did love my man, and all I wanted was to spend another night next to him. Whether it was us watching the game or making love until the sun came up. Joseph Morelli was the only one I wanted to be with. My phone rang, and I hoped it was Joe calling me to say he did not have to work tonight.

"I love you too, Baby." I said when I flipped open the phone to answer it.

"Wow—been a long time since I heard that." Shit! My face immediately flushed with embarrassment.

"Cooper! Hi, sorry. I didn't look at the caller ID before I answered. I thought it was someone else."

"Lucky guy." I heard the subtle sting of rejection in his voice, but I chose to ignore it.

"Yeah, so what's up?"

"Well I was looking at my schedule and I think dinner tonight will be best! What time should I pick you up?"

"Oh, well I'm not sure. I might have plans already tonight."

"You can't spare an hour for an old friend?" If all Cooper was, was just an old friend, then probably. Fact is, he's not and after my argument with Joe about it—there wasn't any way I was going to make plans now without talking to him first. Besides, him picking me up was probably another _huge_ no-no.

"Maybe if you had given me more of a warning than today! Besides, I'm not saying no, just saying maybe."

"Well why don't you talk to your lucky boyfriend and let me know. If I have to I'll change my schedule around. I really want to see you, Steph."

"I'll do what I can, Cooper."

Cooper let out a little laugh. "Alright, I'll take it. I'll talk to you later, beautiful."

"Bye Coop." This day was turning into something of a disaster. It was one thing after another, I need a beer….and my boy. I gave Joe's phone a call but it went straight to voicemail.

"_I'm sorry for fighting too. Just a heads up, Cooper wanted to get dinner tonight but I told him I didn't know. I'm waiting to hear back from you first, because after the day I had, you're the only one I want to see tonight! Give me a call back, baby! I love you too Joe!"_

I went home and noticed I had a few messages on my answering machine. All though were from my mother hounding me with the fact that I ended up getting into a fight with Hallie. Her last message mentioned Cooper and said he was welcome to come over for dinner.

That was when I started to realize that Joe had been right. What were the chances of Cooper appearing after all this time, and I just _happened_ to run into him? Not to mention his badgering me to go out to dinner with him tonight. Which wouldn't be strange—if I had heard from him at all over the years. But truth was I really hadn't. Minus the memories I had of him, he had no other place in my thoughts… until now.

And my spidey senses were telling me something wasn't right. And since I hadn't heard back from Joe yet, I decided to take a nap and worry about all of this later. I didn't want to sleep the rest of my evening away but I didn't bother setting an alarm since I was sure Joe would call to wake me up within an hour or so. I crawled into my bed and glanced at the clock—4:45pm. I'd wake up in a couple hours and hopefully have some dinner with my guy and let all these bizarre thoughts get out of my head.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

When I opened my eyes the entire place was pitch black. I sat up alarmingly fast and saw it was now 10:15pm. I grabbed for my phone in the dark—no missed calls. Something wasn't right. Joe wouldn't _not_ call me back, even if he was busy. He would have told me.

I jumped off the bed and threw on a different pair of jeans and an oversized gray hoodie. My head was still in a groggy state but I kept moving. I would at least go over to Joe's house and make sure he was okay. I ran a brush through my curls, grabbed my keys and ran out the door. I was halfway across the parking lot to my car when I stopped dead.

Leaning against my car was a hard muscled man dressed head to toe in black. His arms were crossed over his chest and his one foot was crossed over the other. It was such a strange time for anyone to be hear looking for me—and this guy didn't seem affected by that reality at all.

"Can I help you?" I asked as brave as possible from where I stood. The man nodded once.

"And I'm pretty sure you could use my help too."

What. The. Hell. Could this weird shit just end already today?

"I don't even know you so I don't know how you're supposed to help me." The man pushed off from my car and walked towards me, closing the distance between us.

"Call me, Ranger."


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: JE's Characters—My Version**

**Author's Note: **This story has become so much more than I ever thought it would. And it is all of your commenting and messaging me letting me know what you like/don't like that makes me want to keep going. So I just wanted all of you to know that it's because of YOU that this story has nooo end in sight! And I am Thankful for every one of you! You mean more to me than you could ever realize.

Chapter Sixteen

_Leaning against my car was a hard muscled man dressed head to toe in black. His arms were crossed over his chest and his one foot was crossed over the other. It was such a strange time for anyone to be hear looking for me—and this guy didn't seem affected by that reality at all._

_"Can I help you?" I asked as brave as possible from where I stood. The man nodded once._

_"And I'm pretty sure you could use my help too."_

_What. The. Hell. Could this weird shit just end already today?_

_"I don't even know you so I don't know how you're supposed to help me." The man pushed off from my car and walked towards me, closing the distance between us._

_"Call me, Ranger."_

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Ranger?" I asked; watching him move through the night like a panther. "What are you some kind of action figure?" The corner of his mouth twitched up into what looked like the start of a smile.

"You're Stephanie Plum." We were now within a foot of each other and an intoxicating smell surrounded me. I was beginning to feel my mind go hazy as this perfectly sculpted Latino stared into me without hesitation.

"How do you know that?" My lips finally managed out as I took a step back. Losing my head right now would be the last thing I needed.

"I make it my business to know as much as I can."

"But I've never even seen you before."

"You were with a lawyer for a couple years and now you are dating a cop."

I waited a couple moments for him to add something, but I couldn't wait anymore.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Here's the deal. You are in the picture with law enforcing officials and I too work with them. I have heard your name and seen you around. A week ago I began hearing your name more than usual so I needed to put a name to the face. That was when I started paying attention to you. That was also when I realized you're being followed."

"Followed? What do you mean? Followed by who?"

"Listen, I don't give something for nothing. You need my help and I need yours."

"Help with what?"

Ranger reached into the pocket of his black cargo pants and pulled out a business card. He held it out to me and when I grabbed it from him it felt as though he deliberately made sure our fingers touched.

I didn't know what to make of all this. My mind was now racing with all that happened today and everything Ranger said. How was I supposed to believe this guy that I just met? And what in the world did he mean we were going to help each other? After a few minutes of staring into his face, waiting for him to do or say something to tell me this was all some kind of joke—I finally gave up and looked at the card.

The card was all black (shocking) with silver letters spelling out: RangeMan LLC. There was a building address, and a general phone number. After examining the card I looked back up at him; Ranger was in the same position, staring intently at me, taking in every movement of my face.

"If you want more information, you'll come in tomorrow. We'll talk more then. When you come in tell the person you're there for me."

"_When _I come in? You're just assuming I'm going to cave into all of your cryptic talk and go to this place and help you with something I don't know."

Ranger's lips twitched up into a hint of a smile once more. This time though he stepped closer to me and when I stepped away, my back pressed against another car. So with nowhere to go I watched as his lips inched closer to me. They moved to my ear as the heat of his body radiated into mine.

"You'll be there." And with that he backed away and got into his all black Porsche and sped off into the night.

I stared after him for a few minutes before I realized if he was telling the truth and someone was truly following me—I shouldn't stand in the middle of a dark parking lot. Then I remembered my original mission to find Joe. While I hopped into my car I tried his phone again and got no answer.

I put the car in gear and took off in the direction of Morelli's house. If something about his place seemed off I would go to Tony next and at least stay near him until I had some answers. If someone really was following me, chances were good they were following him too. But why? What did they want? Who were they?

Ranger's business card felt like it was burning a hole in the pocket of my sweatshirt. There was no way I was going to go there. I don't know him and him saying these things doesn't make it true. Besides, him saying '_you'll be there_' is almost a guarantee that I _won't!_ At least… I don't think I will.

My heartbeat sped up when I got close to Joe's house. My mind raced with the numerous things that could have gone wrong with him. It was so unlike Joe to not call me back. And since we've been together he has never not done what he says he will.

I saw Joe's house and the next thing that came into view was his Explorer, parked right there in the driveway. All the lights in the house were off but I didn't come all this way to not find out what I needed to.

Joe had given me a copy of his house key so after knocking a few times, I let myself in. Bob barked a few times as he ran down the steps and bounded towards me. Immediately he realized it was me so he jumped on me for a hug and not to attack. A light came on from upstairs, then Morelli came into view.

He was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants that hung low on his hips and looked like he had thrown on a button-up shirt to see who it was. Except it was open and showed off his perfectly toned bare chest. For a second I forgot about how worried I was and thought about throwing myself at him.

"Steph?" Joe's hair was a mess and it was obvious I woke him from a deep sleep. So in an instant my mood went from fearful to pissed off.

"Yep, it's me." I couldn't hide the bitter tone in my voice. Worse though was how foolish I felt for driving over here so late thinking something could have happened to him.

"What are you doing here, baby?" He skipped down the steps and walked over to me. But the hands positioned on my hips told him to give me my space right now.

"I tried calling you."

"Yeah my phone died while I was working and I didn't have a car charger or anything."

"But you eventually came home and you still didn't call me back."

"Steph, I just got home like half hour ago. I was going to call but it was late and I was dead tired. I figured you'd be asleep so I just went to bed."

I crossed my arms over my chest and shot my eyes into the corner away from him. I suppose I could believe that explanation, though it doesn't stop me from feeling foolish.

"You should have called." Was all I managed to say but even from the corner of my eye I saw Joe's face break into a wide smile as he moved closer to me.

"Were you worried about me?"

"Maybe." I answered; trying to hold back my smile. Joe's arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me in for a kiss.

"If I knew you'd be waiting for me, I would have called you. Hell, I would have come over, Cupcake." I smiled as I looked into his liquid chocolate eyes.

"Well, I'm here now."

His arms wound tighter around me as he nuzzled my neck. "Lucky me."

Our lips found each other and before I knew it I was lying on my back on his couch. Joe's weight rested deliciously on top of me as he moved his mouth over my ear and down my neck. I turned my head to face his coffee table to give him better access. But the tantalizing feeling of his tongue and lips against my neck suddenly didn't feel like anything.

My eyes scanned his coffee table and saw a bottle of champagne with two empty flutes with a little liquid at the very bottom of the glasses. One clearly had the shape of lips made from a very deep shade of red and next to the bottle was a note. Even from where I was lying I could see the handwriting was in no way Morelli's—it was from a woman.

While Joe was still preoccupied I reached my hand over to pull the note close enough to read it. I squinted my eye's in the dim light to see what it said.

_Thanks for tonight—it was great._

_ Can't wait till we can do this again._

_ XoXo _

_ Tonya _

Now it is no secret that Morelli is stronger than I am, but I don't think anyone is stronger than a pissed off woman. In an instant I pushed Joe off me and got off the couch. He stared at me, stunned at my sudden change of pace.

"So you _just_ got home—is that right?"

Morelli ran a hand over his face and through his hair. "Yes Steph, I told you that." I flicked the note at him and motioned to the empty glasses.

"You sure did. You just conveniently let out the part about Tonya and the _great_ night the two of you had."

"Shit Steph, this isn't what it looks like. We work together and said she needed to talk about this case with me. I was already on my way home so she showed up with the champagne and talked about the case for about 5 minutes before I told her she should go. I didn't touch my champagne but she kept saying she wasn't leaving until I finished my glass so I slammed it down and told her I was going to bed."

"If it was that innocent, why didn't you just tell me that? Huh Morelli?"

"It didn't seem important and slipped my mind. Don't make this into something it isn't Stephanie, you're overreacting."

"You have got to be kidding me, Morelli! I have had the day from hell and you're drinking champagne with some slut named Tonya, and I am _overreacting!_"

"How have you had the day from hell, Cupcake?"

"Well let's see! First I get into a fight with your ex; then I run into mine who won't quit bugging me about getting together. We get into it and I can't concentrate all throughout my shitty job. So I go home and take a nap until my amazing boyfriend gets off work to make it all better. Except when I wake up I have _nothing_ from him! No calls, no texts, no telegrams and unless I missed a smoke signal—there was nothing! So I have a heart attack thinking that something might have happened to you! I run out to my car and have this Rambo looking guy waiting for me and tells me there are people following me and we can help each other! All while my boyfriend is having a grand ol' time without me!"

I was foot-stomping mad and shoved past Joe to get to the front door. Joe grabbed hold of my wrist though and made me stop from running out.

"What guy and _who the fuck is following you_?!" For the first time I realized that Morelli was pissed at what I said. But I felt his concern for my well-being should have come before drinks with a "co-worker"—if that's what that hoe really is!

"He says his name is Ranger, and I don't know who's following me!"

"Stephanie, I know this guy—stay away from Ranger. He lives by his own rules and you shouldn't be getting mixed up in a guy like that."

I snatched my wrist away from his grasp. "Oh NO! You don't get a say in who I talk to now! If I choose to go talk to Ranger and help him with whatever he needs—that is MY choice! I don't get a say about who you work with, and _drink_ with!"

"Stephanie—come on!" I stomped towards the door and grabbed the handle. Before leaving though I whipped around to add a little more into our battle.

"And don't bother following me, Morelli! Because there is nothing you can say or do that is going to make me feel better about this right now." I said motioning towards the coffee table. "Besides—I have a busy day tomorrow!"

"Stephanie!" Joe yelled as I opened the door and slammed it shut behind me. I took in a large gulp of air and paused on his front step before walking to my car. From inside I heard a large noise like Joe was putting his fist through something and he followed up by yelling, "DAMNIT" at the top of his lungs.

Well good! Let him be as pissed as I am, and hopefully he doesn't get any sleep either!

I made my way back to the car and knew I couldn't go back to my apartment right away, in case Joe decided to go anyways. There were no places I could go to either that Joe didn't know about. My parents were out as was Tony and I didn't feel like dealing with the other Morelli's at this time. So instead I opted for driving around aimlessly for a couple hours until I felt my eyelids getting so heavy that I needed to go to bed.

When I eventually made it back to my apartment it was after 1 in the morning. My heart dropped a little when I saw Joe wasn't in the parking lot waiting for me. No matter how pissed I was, it would have been nice to see him groveling at my feet to not be angry with him. The fact that he wasn't here just made me even more angry.

I didn't bother turning on any lights when I got home and proceeded to plop down on my bed in what I was wearing. The second my head hit the pillow I was out, but nothing about my dreams gave me a night of rest.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoO**

What does one wear to meet up with a guy that gave my goosebumps, goosebumps? When I woke up I ignored my cell phone completely and instead only thought about the business card sitting in my pocket.

So I finally forced myself to get up and get ready for the day. I took an extra-long shower and spent more time than usual on my hair and make-up. After going through all the contents of my closet I decided on a pair of my low-rise black pants that made my butt look great. With that I added a scoop neck black tank top and a ¾ length sleeved black suit jacket. The outfit hugged my curves and I almost hoped I ran into Morelli just so I could rub it into his face that I was going against what he said.

Once in my car I didn't allow myself to think of all the reasons I _shouldn't_ be going across town to RangeMan LLC. My hands and feet did the driving while my mind was off in a world off of its own. Unfortunately this world consisted of me obsessing over this Tonya chick; what she looked like, how long she knew Morelli and if nothing happened like he claimed.

Before I knew it though I was at a building with a single sign telling me I had the right place. At the front desk sat a big guy dressed in the same all-black outfit Ranger wore the night before. Yep—I definitely had the right place.

"I'm here to see, Ranger?"

"One minute." The guy answered as he picked up the phone. He held it to his ear, exchanged no words then hung up.

"Take that elevator up to the 5th floor. Ranger will meet you there."

"Thank you." I said with a smile. The guy's eyes scanned me from head to toe and even though he didn't full out smile, I could tell he liked what he saw.

The elevator doors opened and then shut as I pressed 5. My stomach was in my throat as I rode in silence on the way up to meet the man from last night.

The elevator stopped and the doors slowly opened. Standing there with his arms crossed and a drop-dead gorgeous smile on his face, was Ranger.

"I told you, you'd come."


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: JE's Characters—My version.**

**Author's Note:** Sorry again for my hiatus. I've been disciplining myself to work specifically on my original story to finish up my first draft. I have 170 pages now, so I am getting there! I'm over half-way but it is also nearing the end of the semester. Which basically means: sleepless nights, constant studying, tests up the wahzoo. Tonight though I read a chapter from _jmts2012_'s Fan Fic called **After Eighteen**. If you have not read this one yet—it is a must, especially if you are a Cupcake! So even though Julie herself doesn't realize the inspiration she has caused for me to write yet—feel free to thank her for this impromptu update. Enjoy my lovelies =D

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo O**

_The elevator doors opened and then shut as I pressed 5. My stomach was in my throat as I rode in silence on the way up to meet the man from last night._

_The elevator stopped and the doors slowly opened. Standing there with his arms crossed and a drop-dead gorgeous smile on his face was Ranger._

_"I told you, you'd come."_

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo O**

Chapter Seventeen

I let my blue eyes roll around at the cocky attitude Ranger emanated from every pore of his perfectly formed body. The corner of Ranger's mouth twitched up in amusement,

"Don't start with me; I'm not in the mood today." The smile didn't leave Ranger's face.

"Why's that? Didn't get in your morning boxing session at the bakery?" I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What?"

"My office is down here." He turned and sauntered off down the long corridor, leaving me with no choice but to follow. Ranger held the door open for me, closing it behind us after we entered.

"Take a seat."

"How do you know about the bakery incident?" He walked around to the other side of his desk and shuffled through a stack of paper.

"I know everything." Was the answer he finally gave me with an attitude that couldn't be seen as anything _but_ being flirty.

"Oh sure." I responded with another eye roll.

"I was the one that pulled Morelli's ex-fiancée outside before you killed her." My face flushed a few shades of red.

"Oh, well she deserved it." Ranger nodded at my explanation.

"I'm sure she did."

"So, I'm here, tell me whose following me."

Ranger found the piece of paper he was looking for and placed it on the desk directly in front of him. My eyes craned over the desk to try and read the small font page, with little luck. After resting his elbows on the desk he laced his fingers together.

"I told you earlier I don't give something for nothing. This is the something _I_ want in return for the something I'll give."

I surveyed his serious expression and couldn't help but feel intimidated by all this man seemed to know. Not to mention scared _shitless_ for what this man could possibly want my help with.

"And that would be?" I finally managed to get out.

"Here at RangeMan we do a lot of different things but one of the primary things is private security. Everyone working for me are highly trained and some of the best in the country at what they do. We're growing rapidly and now have more accounts than we've ever had before."

"Well that's a good thing, right?"

Ranger nodded once. "Right. Except my men are needed at many different places and pulling longer shifts than before. We also apprehend fugitives that have skipped bail and we only take the highly dangerous guys. Which isn't a problem for us but this also means it takes more time and energy to plan out."

"Makes sense." I added, mostly so he knew I was following what he was saying.

"The problem is everything takes paper work and my men are spending time working on that when they could be taking care of other issues. I have here a job offer for you." Ranger turned the paper around to face me.

"The position is above entry-level you will receive benefits and paid-time off. Plus, I can guarantee you'll be making more here than at the button factory."

"How'd you… Never mind." I shouldn't be that surprised anymore with all that Ranger knows about me.

He smiled again but continued with the job description. "You will be handling paperwork for accounts; signing up new ones, checking in on old ones. There also may be times when we need to apprehend a fugitive and need background information. You'll be in charge of finding information for us and sometimes we may even need your assistance as playing the role of a distraction."

"A distraction?" Ranger nodded without adding anything more. "What exactly does that mean?"

"There are some FTAs that have their guard up because they know that people are trying to send them back to jail. Sometimes it takes the attention of a beautiful woman to make them forget all about someone trying to apprehend them."

"That sounds easy enough, so what's the catch."

"It's not always a cake walk. You need to be ready to drop anything and come assist us. We work as a team; we will always have your back and you have ours. You will need to learn how to use a gun and I expect you to carry it on your person at all times." _Ha—right_, that's unlikely. No point mentioning that now though, may as well wait until I'm already hired.

"And if I agree to all of this not only will I be making more than my current salary but you will also help me with whatever strange crap I'm also going through."

Ranger nodded. It didn't take me long to realize Ranger was a no-nonsense kind of guy.

"Answer me one more question." Leaning forward I rested my elbows on the desk. "Why me?"

"I mentioned earlier that I began paying more attention to you recently. From everything I have seen you're the person I'm looking for. I also happen to be the one that pulled Morelli's ex out from underneath you before you killed her in the bakery." My jaw dropped open and a spark of amusement flickered in Ranger's eye.

"She deserved it." Was my only response as I backed away from the desk.

"So, what do you say?" My attention shifted from the papers rested in front of me listing out the numbers and job description we had just talked about. The offer seemed almost too good to be true, but it was all written out right here in a contract.

The pay was better than I have ever made at a single job, and the work itself seemed actually enjoyable in comparison with the crap I do daily at the button factory. Ranger silently examined every single breath I took and move of my hands.

I positioned myself to sit up straighter in the chair, looking Ranger in the eyes.

"I'm in." Ranger's lip curved up into a smile, his hand extended in front of him. Without hesitation I shook it with a smile.

"Welcome aboard, Babe."

For the next half hour we went through signing and reviewing my contracts. Ranger had a business hold on me for the next two years and I wasn't as worried about it as I probably should be. The two thoughts that came into my mind were my current job and Joe. It's no secret that Joe wants me to have nothing to do with Ranger and now for the next two years, he's my boss.

"So all this is great don't get me wrong, but what about the people following me."

"You'll come back over tonight for dinner. I don't know much about them but we'll find out together. In the meantime you'll be driving around in one of our cars which has a tracking device so you will always be safe."

"Wait, you never said anything about having to drive a different car."

"It's not that big of a deal is it?"

"Can I just drive it while I'm here at work?"

Ranger shook his head. "Absolutely not. If something happens to you, we need to know. Besides all my employees drive a black company car. All are installed with equipment to protect you on and off the job; besides, you are a salaried member of the team not hourly. So you are essentially always on the clock."

I gulped back my rising lump of anxiety. "Oh."

"Worried about what the boyfriend will think?" Ranger linked his arms behind his head; he was enjoying the visible discomfort.

"It did cross my mind, yes." Ranger smiled and dug something out of his desk drawer and placed it in front of me.

"I think this one will suit you well. Can you drive a stick shift, or should I cancel my afternoon to teach you?"

The way Ranger said it made my goosebumps have goosebumps. He was testing how far he could push me and it's been a while since I had someone test my limits. Something told me Ranger was going to try on a daily basis and I intended to let him see I wasn't afraid to push back.

"I know how to drive one."

"Impressive." Ranger oozed testosterone but lucky for me, I was used to be around an Italian with a very active libido. This exchange wasn't going to intimidate me—I hoped.

"You will work Monday through Friday from 9 to 5. My employees wear black; I will have my housekeeper Ella order you some RangeMan official gear. Until than anything of your own will work. Be here tonight at 7; ride up to the 5th floor and I'll meet you."

"Do I need to wear all black tonight?"

"Not tonight."

"What do I do with my car?"

"Leave it here; my men will take care of it."

I let out an audible sigh and held up the car keys. "You're sure about this?" Ranger nodded once, with a smile and wave I turned to leave.

Down in the garage were rows of all-black brand new looking cars. There was no point going through every single one of them to see which was now 'mine,' instead I took a deep breath and pushed the key fob. A beep came and I pressed the button again to follow the noise. When my game ended and I found myself in front of my car, I dropped everything. The keys fell, my purse and my jaw. This had to be a joke. My phone was in my pocket and in half a second I had it open and dialing Ranger's number.

"Yo."

"This has to be some kind of a joke."

"What's that?"

"You can't seriously be giving me…_this_ as a _company car_!"

"I seriously am."

"DO you know what kind of car this is!?"

"That's a Mercedes-Benz two-door convertible, am I right?"

"Well yeah! I know what kind of car it is! I just didn't know if you did!"

"I do."

"You can't give me this car."

"Well, I just did Babe. Have fun." The phone disconnected as I stared mouth opened at the glorious vehicle staring back at me.

I wanted to call Ranger back and refuse it. No Stephanie—you _are_ going to dial the phone right now and tell him no. You can't take this car! Grabbing the stuff off the floor I moved to go back upstairs and give his keys back. Somehow though I managed to end up behind the wheel, seatbelt on.

Okay, so maybe _one_ ride isn't going to hurt. It's not like Ranger is serious and I can't offend my new boss, that's just rude. My feet found the brake and clutch as I turned the key. The engine turned over and the beautiful purr of the car ran through my whole body. My body sighed at the wonderful feeling of being in control of something so powerful. The shifter found first gear perfectly and I slowly released the brake giving it some gas. The car took off in such a wonderful way from the garage; man I hope this wasn't really a joke. I don't think I could handle giving this car back now. There were so many gadgets it made the car look more like a space ship. A single button had a phone icon on it. So while I was stopped at a red light I let myself play around with it a little. My finger pressed the button and said, "Call Ranger."

Next came the sound of a dial tone followed by Ranger's voice.

"Yo."

"You weren't kidding about the car right?"

"Babe."

"Thank you." My face was spread into a smile so wide I felt my cheeks hurting. Ranger laughed over the phone before disconnecting.

My first stop was the button factory to tell them I couldn't continue my job any longer. The employers were pissed at my lack of notice but I pointed to my new company car out the window. We stared with our faces pressed against the glass and needless to say, they couldn't blame me anymore. The next place I wanted to go was home. Might as well hang out, shower and nap before my dinner with the boss tonight.

Before I realized what I was doing though I was parked at Joe's house behind his Explorer. I sat in the comfort of my new baby for a few minutes before Joe appeared on his front step; his hands were on his hips and I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears from here.

Turning off the soft purr of my baby took away all the confidence I had. Once both feet were on the pavement he stalked towards me.

"What are you doing home from work?" I asked in the sweetest tone I could muster up.

"I took the day off to clear my head. Now, what the hell have you been doing today, Stephanie? Whose car is this and why aren't you at work?"

"Well, I don't work at the button factory anymore." The flash of anger that passed his face told me he knew exactly _why_ that was too.

"Stephanie, don't tell me…" I lifted my hand to stop him mid-sentence.

"Can we please go inside and talk about this so we don't have a fight right here on your front lawn."

"After you." He extended his arm out to the door. Bob jumped on me when I walked in and I took the fact that Joe held me up from falling to the ground as a good sign.

"Where'd you get the car, Steph?"

"Ranger."

The veins in Joe's neck were pulsing and if a lump of coal had been in his fists, it would quickly become one of the most beautiful diamonds in the world.

"Why in the _hell_ would Ranger give you **_that_** car?"

I wanted to find a better way to explain it, but no matter the answer—Joe wasn't going to be happy.

"All his employees have a black car."

"WHAT!" The booming tone of his voice made me jump back a step. "What in the hell were you thinking accepting a job from that guy! Give it back, Stephanie. I'm begging you, return the car and get your job at the button factory back."

"I signed a contract, Joe. Everything between us is legitimate, I promise."

"You don't know this guy the way I do."

"Oh, you mean like the way you know Tanya!" Don't ask why I brought her into this, I couldn't help it. I was tired of sitting around letting him bash my choices and I was never one to sit around and let someone tell me what to do.

"Christ, here we go with this bullshit! I told you what happened."

"Did you Joe? Did you tell me _everything_!"

"Yes, damnit! I did!" I crossed my arms over my chest in my typical defensive stance.

"Not until I found out! Why was she in your house at all with a goddamn bottle of _champagne_ if it was nothing!"

"I didn't invite her in, Stephanie!"

"Well that's trespassing! As a cop you should have arrested her if you hated it so much! Not had a drink with her!"

"You're acting like I planned on you getting hurt by this! I did not do anything with that woman, Stephanie and you're the only woman I want to do anything with! So stop this crazy bullshit!"

"But you don't understand Joe—that **_did_** hurt me! Did you seriously forget that less than a month ago I walked in on my fiancée of 3 years pounding away at another woman!" The tears were welling up in my eyes and Joe's face suddenly dropped. It was the first moment he saw my side, but I was far too proud to let him see the tears fall over this.

I whipped around and headed for the door. My hand was on the knob to leave but I paused by the soft broken voice behind me.

"Cupcake." Joe whispered out and after only a moment I turned to face him. My purse dropped to the floor as I ran into Joe's waiting arms. He held me tight against him as I rested my chin on his shoulder letting the tears slip down my cheeks. Joe turned his lips to kiss the side of my head, my hair and the base of my neck. We stood there breathing each other in, holding on for dear life.

"I hate fighting with you, Stephanie."

"I hate it too."

"And you're right, I'm sorry. I should have told you and I should have kicked her ass out and slammed the door in her face. I never want to hurt you, baby."

"Just promise me we'll stop all this fighting." The words came out in broken sobs.

Joe pulled away and cupped my face in his hands. "I promise you, Stephanie. I never want to lose you again. I _can't_ lose you. You're my world, Cupcake. Without you—I'm nothing." I smiled through the tears and stood on my tiptoes to reach his lips.

We stood together for a few more minutes before pulling away. After the morning I had and the drive in my new baby, there was nothing more I wanted than to spend the rest of the day with my man—preferably with much less clothing. I felt a courage sweep over me and knew Joe wasn't going to make the first move so quickly after the fight we had.

"So what did you do with that bottle of champagne?"

"I didn't know what to do with it, so I just stuck it in the fridge." Perfect.

I slipped out of Joe's arms and walked into his kitchen grabbing the bottle out. Joe stood where I left him, a look of confusion covering his face. I popped the cork and put the bottle to my lips taking a long pull. Joe watched closely as I set the bottle down on the mantel piece and slowly pulled my top off. There I stood with just my lacy bra and Joe's eyes glued to me waiting for my next move. I took another pull of the champagne, every bubbly sip made my confidence climb ever-so-slightly.

"Wha...what are you doing?" Joe's stumbling over his words made me smile.

"I just figured I'd like to enjoy my day off with my boyfriend. Why, would you like me to stop?" He shook his head from side to side as I slowly undid the front of my pants.

"If you stop now I'm going to have to arrest you." His answer brought a laugh out of me.

My thumbs slid into my belt loops, slowly pulling them over my hips. The lower the pants went—the closer Joe moved to me. His hands reached out to touch me but I placed the bottle of champagne in them instead. Without thinking he took a long pull of champagne and took another step towards me. The brown in his eyes became my favorite shade of liquid chocolate that they became every time he was aroused. He took in the look of my chest in my black and purple lacy Victoria's secret bra and matching thong.

"So do you really have handcuffs?" Joe took another pull from the bottle and raised an eyebrow at me.

"I'm a cop, Steph. Of course I have handcuffs."

In the most seductive walk I could conjure up. My body pressed against the front of his as my hand took the bottle from him. This time I didn't stop his hands from moving up and down the sides of my waist.

"Good. Bring them." I whispered against his lips.

That was the last coherent thing either of us said as the desire took over both of us. We made it upstairs but with no clothes and a pair of handcuffs, which turned out to be much more fun than I ever imagined. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad being arrested—as long as it meant being handcuffed to Morelli's headboard.


End file.
